Chapter Summaries

Hu Bayi impressed Professor Chen with his knowledge of Tian Xing Feng Shui and joined the archaeological team, while Wang Pangzi and Hao Shuai were also accepted for the expedition. Hao Shuai revealed Shirley Yang’s curse and gave her a talisman that eased its effects, leaving her eager to buy another.

• Hu Bayi explained Tian Xing Feng Shui to Professor Chen, who officially invited him to join the archaeological team.
• Hao Aiguo apologized to Hu Bayi and introduced Sa Dipeng, Chu Jian, and Ye Yixin; Shirley Yang then met the group.
• Wang Pangzi bragged about fighting bandits and showed Professor Chen his jade pendant, whose Ghost Cave script helped secure his place on the expedition.
• Hao Shuai claimed he could read faces and told Shirley Yang she was cursed and would not live past forty.
• Hao Shuai gave Shirley Yang a talisman that lifted the pressure in her chest, then offered to sell her another for fifty thousand US dollars.

Hao Shuai sold Shirley Yang a talisman and negotiated higher pay and a group safety fee for joining the expedition to the Ancient City of Jingjue. He left with Hu Bayi and Wang Pangzi after demonstrating his strength, while the archaeological team agreed to follow his and Hu Bayi’s instructions in dangerous situations.

• Shirley Yang paid Hao Shuai fifty thousand US dollars for a talisman and asked him to sell her more in the future.
• Hao Shuai challenged Shirley Yang’s plans to take the older and less fit archaeological team into the desert, then negotiated higher expedition pay for himself, Hu Bayi, and Wang Pangzi.
• Hao Shuai offered to guarantee the team’s safety for an additional fee, and he and Shirley Yang settled on one hundred and fifty thousand US dollars for the group, provided everyone followed Hao Shuai and Hu Bayi’s instructions in danger.
• Hao Shuai, Hu Bayi, Wang Pangzi, Shirley Yang, and the archaeological team agreed to set out early the day after tomorrow.
• Before leaving with Hu Bayi and Wang Pangzi, Hao Shuai shattered a stone pillar with one slap, stunning the archaeological team.

Hao Shuai, Hu Bayi, and Wang Pangzi learned that Shirley Yang’s group had changed their destination to the Kunlun Glacier, where they hoped to recover an explorer’s diary. After Hu Bayi recounted his earlier expedition and Hao Shuai explained the deadly Dapu Ghost Worms, the group agreed to discuss the change on the condition that they received extra payment.

• Hao Shuai gave Hu Bayi fifty thousand US dollars to distribute among fallen soldiers’ families, and the group boarded a westbound train.
• Professor Chen told Hao Shuai and Hu Bayi that Shirley Yang’s group wanted to change course to the Kunlun Glacier, prompting Hu Bayi to storm out.
• Hao Shuai confirmed that a fire ladybug had caused the tragedy during Hu Bayi’s earlier glacier expedition and encouraged him to face the past.
• Hu Bayi recounted the expedition, and Hao Shuai identified the fire ladybug as a Dapu Ghost Worm with deadly fire and ice forms.
• Shirley Yang and Professor Chen explained that they sought Walter’s diary and that Shirley also wanted to follow her father’s footsteps.
• Hao Shuai and Wang Pangzi agreed to the changed destination only if Shirley Yang’s group paid extra.

Hao Shuai led the expedition into the Kunlun glacier fissure, where the group found a corpse and an underground river. After discovering that Shirley Yang was acting suspiciously and Sa Dipeng’s camera flash risked attracting danger, Hao Shuai secured the camera and prepared to lead everyone across the river.

• Shirley Yang agreed to pay Hao Shuai, Hu Bayi, and Wang Pangzi extra overtime money, and the group traveled to Kunlun with Professor Chen’s expedition.
• Hao Shuai carried Professor Chen and Ye Yixin through the high-altitude terrain, and the group reached the earthquake fissure and made camp.
• Hao Shuai descended into the fissure first, found a corpse from Shirley Yang’s father’s expedition, and gave its handgun to Wang Pangzi.
• Hao Shuai and Hu Bayi led the group through the fissure to an underground river, where Professor Chen’s team found Ghost Cave script.
• Hu Bayi told Hao Shuai that Shirley Yang kept slipping away from the group, and Hao Shuai asked Wang Pangzi to watch her.
• Sa Dipeng accidentally set off his camera flash, so Hao Shuai had Hu Bayi confiscate the camera before crossing the river.

Hao Shuai led Shirley Yang to the Nine-Story Demon Tower, where they recovered the notebook and film she had been searching for. He stayed behind to explore and take pictures while Shirley Yang returned to watch Professor Chen and the others.

• After crossing the underground river, Hao Shuai realized the giant salamander had not appeared because Squad Leader had not been bleeding into the water.
• Hao Shuai warned the group to stay quiet as they entered a cave and saw the Nine-Story Demon Tower covered in glowing Dapu Ghost Worms.
• Professor Chen recognized the tower as a Demon Kingdom royal tomb, while Gawa described a similar ruin destroyed by King Gesar.
• When Shirley Yang tried to approach the tower, Hao Shuai stopped her and then took her with him while Hu Bayi and Wang Pangzi guarded the others.
• At the tower’s left staircase, Hao Shuai found two bodies and a shoulder bag; Shirley Yang confirmed it contained the notebook and film she needed.
• Hao Shuai sent Shirley Yang back to watch Professor Chen and the others, while he stayed to take pictures.

Hao Shuai explored the Nine-story Demon Tower and found a jeweled scepter and a black bead filled with yin energy and resentment in the ruler’s coffin. When Sa Dipeng’s scream awakened the fire beetles, Hao Shuai held them back so the others could escape, sealed the cave entrance, and followed the group.

• Hao Shuai searched the tower’s floors, collected several scripture stones for Professor Chen, and left the sacrificial remains undisturbed.
• Hao Shuai opened the ruler’s sarcophagus and found a jeweled golden scepter and a black bead gathering yin energy and resentment.
• Sa Dipeng screamed after falling into the sacrificial trench and cutting his palm, awakening the fire beetles.
• Hao Shuai urged Professor Chen, Hu Bayi, and the others to flee while he fought the advancing beetles with his Mysterious Nether Palm.
• Hao Shuai blocked the cave entrance with telekinetic energy, caught some fire beetles in a jar, and collapsed the entrance with a strike before pursuing the others.

Hao Shuai rescued Hu Bayi and the others from a prehistoric giant salamander, then reunited with the group and helped them return safely to the station. The chapter ended with everyone trying the salamander meat and finding it tough, dry, and chewy.

• Hu Bayi turned back to help Hao Shuai, but a giant salamander attacked the group and dragged Hu Bayi toward its jaws.
• Hao Shuai arrived and killed the giant salamander with the Heaven Sword, saving Hu Bayi and the others.
• Hao Shuai searched the underground river for more salamanders, cut off one hind leg, and fed the Heng Ha Two Generals its blood.
• Hao Shuai reunited with Hu Bayi and Shirley Yang, and they carried the salamander leg back to the station with the group.
• Hao Shuai cooked the giant salamander leg, and everyone found the meat tough, dry, and chewy.

Hao Shuai and the archaeological team reached a desert town, found An Liman to guide them, and prepared to search for the Ancient City of Jingjue. After An Liman revealed that foreign tomb raiders had entered the desert, the team hurried to depart in pursuit.

• Hu Bayi urged the group to prepare thoroughly, find an experienced guide, and follow orders before entering the desert.
• The group reached a town on the Taklamakan Desert's edge, where Hu Bayi, Shirley Yang, and Wang Pangzi found An Liman as their guide.
• Hao Shuai used his ability to make An Liman explain that he had abandoned foreign tomb raiders after they forced him to help find the Ancient City of Jingjue.
• Professor Chen and Shirley Yang urged the group to set out immediately, and the archaeological team loaded its supplies onto camels.
• Hao Shuai and the group of ten entered the desert with An Liman.

Hao Shuai and Hu Bayi led the expedition deeper into the Black Desert, where a warning of an approaching sandstorm forced the group to hurry onward. An Liman briefly stopped to pray, then raced past them on his camel as the storm threatened.

• Hao Shuai scolded Ye Yixin and Professor Chen for wasting water, then urged Hu Bayi to take charge and speak up when problems arose.
• Hu Bayi led the expedition into the Black Desert, relying on An Liman to guide them through its shifting dunes and buried ruins toward the Ancient City of Jingjue.
• On the third dawn in the desert, Hu Bayi noticed An Liman's unease beneath the red sky and asked if the weather was changing.
• An Liman warned that a powerful wind was coming, so Hu Bayi told Professor Chen's group to mount their camels and move quickly.
• An Liman knelt to pray while the others departed, then raced past them on his camel.

Hao Shuai rescued Professor Chen during the black sandstorm and led the group to shelter in an ancient city ruin. After securing the others, he flew into the storm for the thrill and returned with two gazelles.

• The camels fled from the approaching storm, and the exhausted archaeological team raced across the desert before the animals stopped and huddled in fear.
• Hu Bayi realized Professor Chen and Hao Shuai were missing, but Hao Shuai soon returned carrying the unconscious Professor Chen.
• Hao Shuai spotted an ancient city ruin, and An Liman guided the group there after the camels refused to move.
• Hao Shuai sent Hu Bayi to gather wormwood and look after the group, then flew into the black sandstorm while everyone called for him to come back.
• Hao Shuai returned to the ruins after riding the storm and hunted two gazelles near the city wall.

Hao Shuai brought two gazelles back to the group sheltering from the black sandstorm, and they ate a meal of roast lamb and soup. After Ye Yixin found human bones, Hao Shuai identified the remains as victims of desert marabunta ants, leaving the group frightened and considering escape.

• Hao Shuai returned with two gazelles, and Wang Pangzi rejected An Liman's demand to release them before helping prepare the meat.
• Hao Shuai and Hu Bayi carried supplies from the camels back to the shelter while the others cooked the gazelles.
• The group ate roast lamb and soup, and Professor Chen thanked Hao Shuai for saving him.
• Ye Yixin discovered a human bone, and Hu Bayi and Shirley Yang noted that the remains had no flesh.
• Hao Shuai said desert marabunta ants had stripped the bodies, and Shirley Yang explained that the ants could devour people and animals and paralyze them with formic acid.

Hao Shuai kept the group safe through the black sandstorm and led them away before the Desert Marabunta Ants swarmed the ruins. He captured the enormous queen and caught up with Hu Bayi and the others, promising to roast the ants as they traveled toward Xiye Ancient City.

• Hao Shuai arranged watches with Hu Bayi and Wang Pangzi and warned the group not to disturb the Desert Marabunta Ants.
• After the storm weakened, Wang Pangzi spotted an ant, and Hao Shuai urged everyone to leave the shelter before the swarm emerged.
• Hu Bayi led the group away on camels while Hao Shuai stayed behind and watched the ants pour over the ancient city ruins.
• Hao Shuai floated above the swarm, tested his Invincible Golden Body against the ants, and killed the ones covering his hand.
• Hao Shuai seized the lamb-sized, six-winged queen with telekinesis and flew after the group, leaving the swarm in chaos.
• Hao Shuai caught up with Hu Bayi and the others, tied the queen to his camel, and told Sa Dipeng that ants were nutritious and could be roasted.

Hao Shuai’s group reached Xiye Ancient City and rested there, where Hu Bayi discovered a tomb beneath the well. After Hu Bayi confirmed the tomb was there, Hao Shuai postponed the team’s descent until morning.

• Hao Shuai’s group reached the ruins of Xiye Ancient City and agreed to rest there for two days.
• Hao Shuai roasted the Six-Winged Ant Queen for the group, while Hu Bayi stopped Wang Pangzi from revealing their tomb-raiding secret to Shirley Yang.
• Hu Bayi studied the stars and declared that a large tomb lay beneath the well, but Hao Shuai revealed its location first.
• Professor Chen’s team hurried to investigate the well, while An Liman objected to their plans to excavate the tomb.
• Hu Bayi went down to scout and confirmed there was an ancient tomb, but Hao Shuai told the exhausted team to wait until morning before entering.

Hao Shuai urged Shirley Yang to reveal the truth about her curse and her search for the Ancient City of Jingjue to Hu Bayi and Wang Pangzi. After learning her story and hearing Hao Shuai confirm the city held treasure, Hu Bayi and Wang Pangzi agreed to continue the journey and protect Professor Chen's team.

• Hao Shuai let Professor Chen's group explore the tomb while he practiced martial arts with Hu Bayi and Wang Pangzi.
• Professor Chen's archaeological team discovered the tomb of a Gumo prince and discussed its significance over dinner.
• Hao Shuai took Shirley Yang, Hu Bayi, and Wang Pangzi aside and pressed Shirley to explain the Ghost Cave Tribe, her curse, and her search for Jingjue.
• Shirley Yang and Hu Bayi recognized each other through their tomb-raiding codes, and Shirley revealed that her family curse would kill her by age fifty unless she found a way to break it.
• Wang Pangzi agreed to go to Jingjue for its treasure, and Hu Bayi agreed to join him and help protect Professor Chen's team.
• Hao Shuai promised they would reach the Ancient City of Jingjue safely if they worked together and kept the archaeological team safe.

Hao Shuai and the archaeological team searched the Black Desert for the Ancient City of Jingjue and uncovered a looted stone tomb beneath the sand. After learning it had been raided only days earlier, the group discussed pursuing the tomb raiders, but Hao Shuai questioned whether they could catch them.

• Hao Shuai and the others left Xiye Ancient City and traveled deeper into the Black Desert, using An Liman's experience and Shirley Yang's notebook to stay on course.
• Shirley Yang asked Hao Shuai why they had not found the stone tombs recorded in the notebook, and Hao Shuai identified the ground beneath them as the likely location.
• Professor Chen, Hu Bayi, and the others dug through the sand and uncovered a Wei-Jin stone tomb with a controlled explosives breach.
• Hao Shuai, Hu Bayi, and the others explored the looted burial chamber, where Wang Pangzi nearly revealed his tomb-raiding past and Hao Shuai found no corpse aura on a young woman's body.
• Professor Chen and Hao Aiguo told Hu Bayi that the tomb had been looted three to five days earlier and proposed catching the raiders.
• Hao Shuai challenged Professor Chen and Hao Aiguo over how they could catch professional tomb raiders with their limited weapons and stamina.

Hao Shuai led the exhausted archaeological team through the Black Desert toward the Ancient City of Jingjue, using the magnetic disturbances to find Zagrama Mountain. At the mountain pass, the camels refused to go farther, and a flare revealed a motionless person sitting ahead.

• After a day of rest, the group traveled deeper into the Black Desert and lost track of the Zidu underground river, while Hao Shuai kept them supplied with food and water.
• Hao Shuai sensed a change in the magnetic field, and Shirley Yang connected it to the notebook's description of the black magnetic mountains; Hu Bayi's malfunctioning watch confirmed the interference.
• Hao Shuai pointed the group in the right direction, and they spotted Zagrama Mountain before traveling through the night to reach its pass.
• The group dismounted and entered the dark, magnetite-rich pass on foot after their camels balked at going farther.
• Hao Shuai told Shirley Yang to throw a flare, which revealed a motionless, white-robed person sitting ahead.

Daoist Hao’s group survived the Black-eyed Monster Snakes in Zaglama Valley and reached the Ancient City of Jingjue. An Liman refused to enter the ruins, and Daoist Hao urged the exhausted team to camp outside until morning.

• Daoist Hao killed the Black-eyed Monster Snakes hidden among four dead tomb raiders and warned the group about their deadly venom and fear of bright light.
• An Liman confirmed that the corpses were the four men he had previously led into the desert, and the group took their supplies before leaving Zaglama Valley.
• Daoist Hao and the others watched the sunrise reveal the Ancient City of Jingjue, while An Liman refused to enter because he feared a curse.
• Daoist Hao left An Liman to guard the camels and supplies at the mountain pass and led the rest of the group toward the city on foot.
• Daoist Hao stopped Professor Chen’s team outside the city gates and proposed resting until morning, reminding them of the monster snakes they had encountered.

Hao Shuai left the sleeping archaeological team and explored the Ancient City of Jingjue alone, opening the hidden passage to its underground tomb and taking its treasure hoard. He reached the Ghost Cave and found the Kunlun Divine Wood and the Corpse Incense Magic Taro.

• Hao Shuai put two Armed Robots on guard, used sleep points on Hu Bayi and the others, and entered the ancient city alone.
• Hao Shuai placed Wang Pangzi’s jade pendant in the jade eyeball, took the eyeball, and subdued the strange snake that fell from the ceiling.
• Hao Shuai opened the hidden passage beneath the altar and flew through the underground corridors to the Zidu Underground River.
• Hao Shuai passed through the partly opened Dragon-Severing Stone, found the tomb’s treasure hoard, and stored it away.
• Hao Shuai flew to the Ghost Cave and found the Kunlun Divine Wood, its coffin, and the parasitic Corpse Incense Magic Taro.

Hao Shuai destroyed the hallucinogenic Corpse Incense Magic Taro, removed Jingjue Queen from her Kunlun Divine Wood coffin, and jumped into the Ghost Cave to investigate its secrets. Deep below, he found murals explaining that a giant serpent’s corpse had fallen from the Imaginary Space and become the Bone of the Serpent God.

• Hao Shuai realized the Corpse Incense Magic Taro’s fragrance could create illusions throughout the Underground Palace, then destroyed the plant and threw it into the Ghost Cave.
• Hao Shuai freed the Kunlun Divine Wood from its chains and discovered that it absorbed spiritual energy.
• Hao Shuai uncovered Jingjue Queen’s face, found her corpse unchanged, and stored both her and the divine wood in his space.
• Hao Shuai jumped into the Ghost Cave and, after a long fall, stopped to examine murals written in Ghost Cave script.
• Hao Shuai inferred from the murals that a serpent’s corpse had fallen from the Imaginary Space, become the Bone of the Serpent God, and later been discovered by the ancestors of the Demon Kingdom.

Hao Shuai defeated Ancestor Void’s remnant consciousness in the Imaginary Space, gained stronger Mental Power and the coordinates of Ancestor Void’s world, and took the giant snake’s skeleton. He returned to camp, then led the archaeological team into the Ancient City of Jingjue, where Shirley Yang gave up searching for the Mochen Pearl.

• Hao Shuai discovered Ancestor Void’s skeleton in the Imaginary Space and defeated the giant snake’s remnant consciousness when it tried to possess him.
• Hao Shuai inherited Ancestor Void’s memories and coordinates, then collected the skeleton and returned to Hu Bayi and the others.
• Hao Shuai cooked breakfast for the group and led Professor Chen and the others into the Ancient City of Jingjue, giving them two days to explore.
• Professor Chen and the team found the temple and the Jingjue Queen’s Underground Palace, where they studied the murals after Hao Shuai had taken the treasures and coffin.
• Shirley Yang searched the city for the Mochen Pearl for a day, then gave up hope of finding it there.