Chapter Summaries

Li Banfeng helped Feng Daiku take over Soda Kiln and planned to develop its abandoned factories while investigating their links to Ruirong Textile Factory. After returning home, he learned that Wife had begun studying Green Water Bow and decided to visit a friend whose home held something valuable.

• Feng Daiku negotiated with Shi Gongxing, who surrendered Soda Kiln in exchange for Spiritual Objects and a new territory.
• Li Banfeng explained to Ma Wu that the conflict between Inner State and Outer State was driven by deeper tensions, and advised Pro State to stay neutral.
• Feng Daiku took Soda Kiln and enlisted Li Banfeng and Ma Wu to help develop it; Li Banfeng asked her to investigate when its factories were built.
• Li Banfeng and Wife found that Soda Kiln’s factory layouts resembled Ruirong Textile Factory’s, and Wife used Teacher Song’s notes to learn about Green Water Bow.
• Hong Ying forced the scholar in Eighth House to solve arithmetic problems, and Li Banfeng decided to visit a friend’s home after examining the bowl.

Li Banfeng entered Green Flower’s hidden residence on Dragon Gate Road and began searching it for treasures, while Mu Yuejuan confronted He Jiaqing over the pills he used to repay Zhang Gunli. At Knife Ghost Ridge, Green Water Bow unexpectedly fell after Wan Jinxian charged him, leaving Cui Tike stunned.

• He Jiaqing repaid Zhang Gunli’s lifespan debt with eight Golden Essence Pills, then met Mu Yuejuan, who demanded Green Flower’s contract deed and attacked him.
• He Jiaqing wounded Mu Yuejuan with Mystical Empty Hand and escaped through a window as she pursued him.
• Li Banfeng used Green Water Bow’s Beggar Bowl to enter the hidden space on Dragon Gate Road and sent paper figures to map Green Flower’s residence.
• Li Banfeng and the glove found numerous pills and located a locked hidden compartment that the glove began trying to open.
• At Knife Ghost Ridge, Wan Jinxian charged Green Water Bow, who suddenly fell to the ground, astonishing Cui Tike.

Li Banfeng uncovered Green Flower’s Local Earth Seal and deeds, absorbed enough Popularity to approach the next Cloud Above layer, and learned the House Cultivator skill Shadows Pitying Each Other. He decided to claim Green Water Bay as Li Qi and hide the deeds, while He Jiaqing maneuvered Mu Yuejuan into helping him reach Green Flower’s residence before abandoning her to Feng Chongli.

• Li Banfeng and the glove dug up Green Flower’s Local Earth Seal and two deeds, and Li Banfeng absorbed so much Popularity that he collapsed and neared the second Cloud Above layer.
• The phonograph taught Li Banfeng Shadows Pitying Each Other, and Li Banfeng fought the ferocious shadow that appeared beside him before learning that using the skill prevented him from using most other skills.
• Li Banfeng read the deeds’ records of Zhao Boil’s victories and Green Water Bay’s expansion, then decided to claim the territory as Li Qi and find a new place to bury the deeds.
• He Jiaqing entered Mu Yuejuan’s painting and convinced her that Green Flower was alive and that he wanted her help reaching Green Flower’s residence.
• He Jiaqing disappeared from Dragon Gate Road, and Feng Chongli confronted Mu Yuejuan in Qingji Alley, offering to buy Green Water Bay’s deed with Snowflake Port’s backing.

Li Banfeng claimed Green Water Bay’s territory, then confronted An Zongding after the Clouds-level Demon Cultivator pursued him. An Zongding was captured, while Feng Chongli and Mu Yuejuan remained trapped inside Green Flower’s residence with its door locked.

• He Jiaqing used Holding Others' Shortcomings on Mu Yuejuan and burned her painting while she negotiated with Feng Chongli.
• Li Banfeng buried the contract book and Local Earth Seal in the Second Residence, becoming Green Water Bay’s Local Earth God.
• Li Banfeng noticed An Zongding following him and led him to Goat Horn Garden, where Qin Tianjiu and Feng Yuqiu ambushed An Zongding but were defeated.
• Li Banfeng used the Gramophone to disable An Zongding’s Ghost Servants, chased him down, broke his limbs, and captured him in the Portable Abode.
• Li Banfeng questioned An Zongding, who admitted Snowflake Port wanted Green Water Bay but did not explain why he had secretly investigated Li Banfeng.
• Feng Chongli and Mu Yuejuan tried to leave Green Flower’s residence, but Feng Chongli found that someone had added a lock he could not open.

Li Banfeng interrogated An Zongding, learned that Snowflake Port was targeting Green Water Bay, and uncovered his connection to Feng Chongli and Mu Yuejuan. After An Zongding died from a curse and Li Banfeng chose not to confront the two Above the Clouds cultivators, he negotiated with Luo Lijun for a piece of ownerless new land in exchange for protecting the Soda Kiln entrance, leaving her to consult her clansmen.

• Li Banfeng forced An Zongding to reveal that Feng Chongli had ordered him to investigate and that Feng and Mu Yuejuan were seeking Green Flower’s deed to seize Green Water Bay for Snowflake Port.
• An Zongding tried to control Hong Ying with a talisman, but Hong Ying beat him, and a curse caused his body to explode until Wife ate his soul.
• Li Banfeng learned about curse cultivators and their counters, then decided against luring Feng Chongli and Mu Yuejuan into the Portable Abode after Wife warned that their Above the Clouds cultivation made the plan too risky.
• Mu Yuejuan attempted to escape the Dark Dimension Space with Feng Chongli through her paintings, but burned paintings blocked their routes and left them stranded.
• Li Banfeng gave An Zongding’s magical artifacts to the Copper Lotus to reforge with the pendulum, earrings, and Music Box.
• Luo Lijun proposed that Li Banfeng guarantee peace between Outer State and Inner State, but he offered to protect only the Soda Kiln entrance in return for complete control of an ownerless piece of new land.

Li Banfeng returned to the Dark Star Bureau after negotiating with the Inner State, then forced Shen Jingye to confront the Bureau’s role in the crisis and the demands tied to Green Water Bow. During a hostage emergency at Zhengqiao Square, Li Banfeng disarmed the suspect while Shen Jingye secretly demonstrated his combat abilities, and the chapter ended with someone still waiting for Li Qi.

• Luo Lijun agreed to guarantee the Soda Kiln entrance if the Outer State removed its Guanfang Hall and kept traffic open, while offering Li Banfeng a hundred-li territory and a complete pair of deeds.
• Mu Yuejuan and Feng Chongli entered another painting, where Mu Yuejuan deceived a man who had waited three days for her by having him carry a piece of bamboo she had painted as herself.
• Chuunibyou confronted Shen Jingye about the lack of a genuine search for Li Qi and questioned whether the creature on Suichen Road had really been Bagworm Moth Madam.
• Li Banfeng returned, told Shen Jingye that the creature had been Green Water Bow, and explained that the Inner State wanted the Soda Kiln Guanfang Hall removed while Green Water Bow demanded five thousand people from Three Heads Junction.
• Li Banfeng dragged Shen Jingye to a hostage crisis at Zhengqiao Square, where he took the suspect’s remote and gun, then shot him before Shen Jingye disabled the bomb’s detonation link.
• Shen Jingye denied concealing his abilities after Li Banfeng recognized his quick work, while the chapter ended by noting that someone was still waiting for Li Qi.

Li Banfeng maneuvered the Outer State authorities into accepting his demands, then arranged for Actor Cultivator to impersonate Green Flower. After the Green Water Bow caused a disease outbreak and the authorities agreed to withdraw from Soda Kiln and provide five thousand people, Li Banfeng visited He Yuxiu and offered her a way to become a Local Earth God without serving the Inner State.

• Shen Jingye wrote an urgent report, and Li Qi corrected its formatting before Du Wenming summoned him to discuss the Inner State, Pro State, Guanfang Hall, and the Three-Headed People.
• Li Qi rejected Du Wenming's attempt to pressure him, saying the Outer State must handle its own decisions and that he had already fulfilled his duties as the Balance Person.
• Li Qi advised Chuunibyou, Tangyuan, and Light Bulb to notify him before future missions, then trained Actor Cultivator to impersonate Green Flower using footage and makeup.
• After the authorities delayed their decision, the Green Water Bow appeared as a traffic officer and caused Du Wenming and others in his building to fall ill; Li Qi refused to help Du Wenming investigate.
• The authorities agreed to provide five thousand people and withdraw Guanfang Hall from Soda Kiln, and Li Qi accepted the mission to deliver the people to Green Water City.
• Li Qi secretly visited He Yuxiu, discovered she had reached the ninth level of cultivation, and offered to help her become a Local Earth God without going to the Inner State.

Li Banfeng brought five thousand Three-Headed People from Sinner City to a new territory, where He Yuxiu claimed the land and began a dangerous advancement to Cloud Above. As Li Banfeng applied the medicine needed for her advancement, He Haiqin and another familiar presence arrived outside the woods.

• Li Banfeng escorted five thousand Three-Headed People from Sinner City to Green Water City and watched them marvel at the lights before they were brought to Snake Bridge Village.
• Luo Lijun established a Paper Contract with Li Banfeng, transferring a new territory to him, and Chu Shaoqiang warned that others might try to take it.
• He Yuxiu hid the contract papers and Local Earth Seal with a Mirage Clam, then made herself the territory's Local Earth God.
• Wife explained that He Yuxiu's Two Entries advancement required the Heart Piercing Pill followed by carefully applied Entry Medicine Powder.
• He Yuxiu swallowed the Heart Piercing Pill, and Li Banfeng began applying the powder as she weakened in the Pine Forest.
• He Haiqin arrived outside the woods, and a mass of smoke warned him not to approach He Yuxiu.

Li Banfeng protected He Yuxiu as she advanced, defeated He Haiqin, and learned that the Inner State had publicized the new land to invite powerful Local Earth Gods to seize it. He planned to counter openly by bringing five thousand Three-Headed People to the land, while He Yuxiu prepared to develop and defend her territory.

• He Haisheng blocked He Haiqin from reaching He Yuxiu, fought him, and was badly injured before He Haiqin heard He Yuxiu nearby.
• Li Banfeng kept He Yuxiu hidden in a Dark Dimension Space, then lured He Haiqin away and defeated him with his techniques and help from Hong Ying and his magical treasures.
• Li Banfeng persuaded He Haiqin that they were family and drew out the news that many powerful Local Earth Gods were coming to claim the new land; Hong Ying then subdued him inside the house.
• He Haisheng thanked Li Banfeng for caring for He Yuxiu, and He Yuxiu recalled that she had disliked He Haisheng as a child because he kept burrowing into her arms.
• After Li Banfeng explained the Inner State's plan, He Yuxiu suggested destroying the contract, but he instead ordered Ma Wu to send all five thousand Three-Headed People to the land openly.
• Li Banfeng said the Three-Headed People would help deter anyone from stirring up trouble, and He Yuxiu began preparing to govern the land.

Li Banfeng and He Yuxiu tried to reclaim land for five thousand Three-Headed People, but Wandering Monsters arrived to conduct the required assessment, defeating the first group. As Li Banfeng prepared for further reclamation, Feng Chongli demanded the territory, and Ye Jianhuang arrived to support Li Banfeng.

• Pan Dehai left the new territory with Hundred-Eyed Fish and Gao Shuxia, warning them that they could not challenge the five thousand Three-Headed People.
• He Yuxiu lit the first land block without an assessment, but Bagworm Moth Madam A'Rou and Feng Qu Weng arrived to test the reclaimers; Feng Qu Weng defeated all twenty-five Three-Headed People.
• A cook explained to Li Banfeng that the land itself had to recognize a reclamation, and advised him to open larger plots and train the pioneers in combat tactics.
• Feng Chongli offered He Yuxiu three million silver dollars for the territory and threatened to take it if she refused; she rejected his offer.
• Ye Jianhuang arrived, choked Feng Chongli with smoke from his pipe, and greeted Li Banfeng as his brother.

Li Banfeng joined Sun Tiecheng’s sect, learned the beginnings of Reversing Cause and Effect, and prepared to take Tang Changfa, Yan Hong, and Yan Cuier to the Outer State. After the new land was secured and He Yuxiu became a Local Earth God, Li Banfeng encountered a stranger who challenged him for He Yuxiu’s territory.

• Ye Jianhuang drove off Feng Chongli and agreed to watch Li Banfeng’s new territory while Li Banfeng returned to Fool’s City to consult Sun Tiecheng.
• Li Banfeng entered Sun Tiecheng’s sect and began learning Reversing Cause and Effect, then celebrated with the people of Changsan Academy.
• Li Banfeng told Sun Tiecheng about Snowflake Port and proposed taking Tang Changfa and the girls to the Outer State; Sun Tiecheng approved the plan.
• He Yuxiu reported that the Three-Headed People had opened the first three-li tract, and Sun Tiecheng revealed that he had left the crucian carp skeleton to test Inner State’s response.
• Li Banfeng led Tang Changfa, Yan Hong, and Yan Cuier out of Fool’s City, but their fear of losing the city’s protective technique forced them to travel through the new land.
• A stranger lured Li Banfeng to a distant stove and challenged him to a fight, offering his own land in exchange for He Yuxiu’s territory.

Li Banfeng fought Luhuo Wang for He Yuxiu’s territory, discovered that Luhuo Wang stored some of his fire seeds in a stone stove, and defeated him. After Luhuo Wang tried to ambush him over the contract, Li Banfeng captured him and took the stove, while Tang Changfa explained the Fire Cultivators’ sects and the Phlegm Cultivators’ power.

• Li Banfeng accepted Luhuo Wang’s wager and fought him, enduring his flames while using Fool’s Thousand Concerns Technique to make him waste fire source.
• Li Banfeng spotted and extinguished Luhuo Wang’s fire seeds, while Tang Changfa distracted Luhuo Wang by pretending to be a Phlegm Cultivator.
• Li Banfeng realized Luhuo Wang had hidden five fire seeds in his stove and forced him to concede the wager.
• Luhuo Wang tried to ambush Li Banfeng with a jar of gunpowder, but Li Banfeng dodged it, doused the stove with Old Teapot, and captured Luhuo Wang and the stove in the Portable Abode.
• Tang Changfa explained the Following Form Sect, the External Body Sect, and the Phlegm Cultivators, while the phonograph said Luhuo Wang had drawn a map to the contract and promised to study the stove’s Work Method.

Li Banfeng claimed Luhuo Wang’s territory under the invented name Chu Yao Han, advanced to the Second Layer of Cloud Above, and brought Tang Changfa, Yan Cuier, and Yan Hong into Outer State. He arranged for Tang Changfa to run a stall at the Culture Palace Black Market and tasked him with watching Yin Siniang for news of her supplier, Guokui.

• Li Banfeng recovered Luhuo Wang’s deed contract, decided Inner State must not reclaim the territory, and had Wife alter the contract to name him Chu Yao Han.
• Hong Ying taught Li Banfeng Riding the Wind and Driving the Clouds after he advanced to Cloud Above Second Layer, and he left to practice the technique.
• Li Banfeng buried the deed contract and Local Earth Seal, shared Luhuo Wang’s flesh with Tang Changfa, Yan Cuier, and Yan Hong, and led them through the lake into Outer State.
• Li Banfeng brought the three newcomers to his residence, rejected Tang Changfa’s proposed illicit businesses, and promised to find them proper work.
• Li Banfeng used Qiu Zhiheng’s letter to secure a stall at the Culture Palace Black Market and told Tang Changfa to watch Yin Siniang for news of the person supplying her Ghost Servants.

Li Banfeng investigated a vengeful soul summoned by the Chamomile Wizard Association and learned that a high-level Curse Art practitioner had died trying to kill it. With the search returned to his team, Li Banfeng rushed to the Culture Palace after Tang Changfa reported someone had delivered goods to Yin Siniang.

• Shen Jingye met with Li Banfeng, who refused to hear his report and went to investigate a vengeful soul attack at Dream Mansion Underground City.
• Li Banfeng ordered the Chamomile Wizard Association members detained and deduced that the vengeful soul had killed three people with glass blasted from a television screen.
• Li Banfeng found signs of an unseen, powerful presence in an abandoned karaoke room and ordered the Underground City evacuated and sealed off.
• Shen Jingye reported that the authorities' seventh-level Curse Art practitioner had died from backlash while trying to kill the vengeful soul through its summoning contract.
• Li Banfeng learned that someone had delivered goods to Yin Siniang, told Tang Changfa to hold position, and rushed toward the Culture Palace.

Li Banfeng followed a lead about the Ferry Gang to Yanlou Village, where he suspected the monthly visiting Great God was Red Lotus’s master. After helping Jin Shunying hunt a high-level fighter, Li Banfeng discovered Chu Zikai fighting a dead soul who appeared to be Lu Dongjun.

• Li Banfeng questioned Jin Shunying, learned she supplied Ghost Servants to Yin Siniang, and made a contract with her.
• Yin Siniang told Li Banfeng that Boat Boss had delivered goods in Jiacheng District, and Jin Shunying revealed the Ferry Gang was interested in a level-seven fighter’s spirit in Yanlou Village.
• Li Banfeng learned that the Great God who visited Yanlou Village might be Red Lotus’s master, then stayed in his Portable Abode for two days to improve his techniques.
• Li Banfeng and Jin Shunying prepared to hunt the fighter, but Li Banfeng delayed the operation until the eighth after Jin Shunying said she had wished for their success.
• At the construction site, Li Banfeng heard Chu Zikai using a Sound Cultivation Technique to capture a dead soul and disrupted his song, allowing the dead soul to attack.
• The dead soul pierced Chu Zikai with his tattered clothes and asked whether he knew Lu Erye, leading Li Banfeng to suspect it was Lu Dongjun.

Li Banfeng defeated Lu Dongjun and learned that cultivators’ souls were sent to the Inner State to make bricks, while Yanlou Village’s supposed deity was a dead medical cultivator. The Portable Abode claimed it had a use for Lu Dongjun and kept him, leaving Li Banfeng’s questions about the Inner State and the deity unresolved.

• Li Banfeng secretly helped Lu Dongjun fight Chu Zikai, but an old man swept Chu Zikai away after warning him that powerful allies might be nearby.
• Lu Dongjun mistook Li Banfeng for Lu Dongliang, confessed his past, then attacked when Li Banfeng failed to answer; Li Banfeng revealed himself and captured him with sound techniques and Prince Chun's horsewhip.
• Li Banfeng questioned Lu Dongjun, who explained that cultivators’ souls went to the Inner State, where those below the Tenth Layer were forced to make bricks, and that an unknown expert had helped him escape to the Outer State.
• Lu Dongjun said Yanlou Village’s great deity was a dead medical cultivator serving a demonic cultivator, not a heavenly being.
• The Portable Abode asked Li Banfeng to leave Lu Dongjun with it, saying it had a use for him.

Li Banfeng investigated the contract document that summoned Lu Dongjun and traced it to Tong Yousan, while Shen Rongqing borrowed eighth-layer Literary Cultivation from Zhang Gunli to kill Ma Junyang. After Ma Wu was found dead, Zhang Gunli arrived to collect Shen Rongqing’s debt and was confronted by He Jiaqing and Feng Chongli.

• The Portable Abode told Li Banfeng that Lu Dongjun carried a deeply hidden mark from the Inner State, and Li Banfeng suspected Train Grandpa had left it as a clue to rescuing him.
• Li Banfeng questioned Cheliviko, learned that Tong Yousan had supplied the summoning contract, and had Candied Fruit locate the bookstore owner on South Entrance Pedestrian Street.
• Shen Rongqing borrowed two days of eighth-layer Literary Cultivation from Zhang Gunli, then lured Ma Wu to her home and killed him; Zuo Wugang watched from the garden.
• Ma Chunting learned that Ma Wu’s corpse had been found outside the city, while He Yuxiu and Chu Er set out to investigate.
• After Luo ZhengNan called to report Ma Wu’s death, Li Banfeng returned to questioning Tong Yousan at Three Friends Bookstore.
• Zhang Gunli went to collect Shen Rongqing’s debt, but He Jiaqing and Feng Chongli confronted him over selling He Jiaqing’s information to Mu Yuejuan.

Feng Chongli and He Jiaqing fought Zhang Gunli over Feng Chongli’s debt, then joined Gui Jianchou and Mu Yuejuan in killing him. After the group divided Zhang Gunli’s spoils, Gui Jianchou realized Feng Chongli knew the Peddler’s exclusive technique, while Boss Lu overheard the secret from outside.

• Zhang Gunli used his IOU-based techniques to restrain Feng Chongli and demand that he kill He Jiaqing, but He Jiaqing released a flood of Silver Coins and Feng Chongli cleared the debt with Money and Goods Cleared.
• Feng Chongli fought Zhang Gunli while He Jiaqing exposed his methods, took control of his puppets, and helped Feng Chongli anticipate Zhang Gunli’s attacks with Honesty with Old and Young.
• Zhang Gunli tried to flee after recognizing Feng Chongli’s technique, but He Jiaqing’s concealed walnut switch led him to attack a Ghost Servant disguised as He Jiaqing, and Gui Jianchou blocked his escape.
• Gui Jianchou and Mu Yuejuan joined Feng Chongli and He Jiaqing to overwhelm Zhang Gunli, strip away his magical artifacts, kill him, and collect his soul.
• He Jiaqing entrusted Zhang Gunli’s walnuts to Gui Jianchou and Mu Yuejuan, and the group negotiated how to divide the spoils while Gui Jianchou wondered whether to tell Sun Tiecheng about Feng Chongli’s technique.
• Boss Lu waited outside with books for Shen Rongqing and overheard matters he recognized as important.

Gui Jianchou, Mu Yuejuan, Feng Chongli, and He Jiaqing divided Zhang Gunli’s hoard, while Feng Chongli helped Shen Rongqing remove a cursed contract. At Soda Kiln, Li Banfeng learned that Luo Lijun had been replaced by her twin sister, whose guarded answers suggested a hidden request for help from Inner State.

• Feng Chongli opened Zhang Gunli’s walnut storehouse, and the group divided its treasures, pills, and money before giving the storehouse to him.
• Feng Chongli found Shen Rongqing’s IOU, warned her that destroying it could trigger a curse, and removed the curse for one silver dollar.
• Shen Rongqing asked He Jiaqing to spare Ma Junyang if he ever fell into his hands, and He Jiaqing agreed.
• Ma Wu realized that the snail girl was not Luo Lijun, and Gui Jianchou secretly watched Ma Wu question her at Soda Kiln.
• Li Banfeng abandoned his attempt to investigate Quan Jinfeng and went to Soda Kiln after Ma Wu warned him that Luo Lijun had been replaced.
• Luo Yanjun told Li Banfeng and Ma Wu that her sister might be imprisoned, then revealed she could not speak freely and hinted that her father had died in prison seeking justice.

Li Banfeng learned that Inner State planned to attack Outer State through Ruirong Textile Factory, while Luo Yanjun offered two plots of land in exchange for help rescuing Luo Lijun. As the Dark Star Bureau delayed preparing without concrete evidence, an earthquake struck the factory, and Li Banfeng declared the war already over.

• Luo Yanjun revealed Inner State’s pro-war and pro-peace factions, and Li Banfeng identified the Sage of Sage Peak as the force pushing for war.
• Luo Yanjun offered two plots of land if Li Banfeng helped save Luo Lijun, and she pointed him toward the factory where Inner State’s first machines had been sent.
• Li Banfeng told Shen Jingye that Inner State’s battlefield would be Ruirong Textile Factory, but officials demanded concrete evidence before preparing defenses.
• Chuunibyou independently deduced that Ruirong Textile Factory was an exit from Inner State and began keeping watch there despite warnings of danger.
• An earthquake struck while Chuunibyou watched the factory, and Li Banfeng rescued him and six Dark Energy enthusiasts before saying the war was already over.
• Hundreds of drones rose above the damaged but still-standing factory to search for surviving enemy forces.