Chapter Summaries

Xu Yi endured repeated attempts to Converge with the Dao, switching forms when his true body could not withstand the strain. Five-colored mystic light finally entered the corpses of both the Crimson Flame Thunder Monkey and Xu Yi's true body, leaving Wang Buyi astonished.

• Xu Yi used ten Immortal Spirit Beads without opening the Starry Sky Gate, then continued despite Wang Buyi and Huang Mei warning him to stop.
• Xu Yi manifested the Spirit Official Three Lives Aspect and continued catalyzing the process, reducing the damage to his body.
• Five-colored mystic light appeared above Xu Yi but vanished before entering his corpse, and Huang Mei told him to attack the Starry Sky Gate in the Crimson Flame Thunder Monkey's corpse.
• Xu Yi manifested the Crimson Flame Thunder Monkey and resumed refining Incense Beads and Immortal Spirit Beads while Wang Buyi maintained the barrier.
• Five-colored mystic light entered the Crimson Flame Thunder Monkey's corpse, then Xu Yi manifested his true body and the light entered that corpse as well.

Xu Yi completed his breakthrough to the Dao Integration Realm and discovered that the Twenty-Eight Mansions had appeared in his starry sky and in the Crimson Flame Thunder Monkey's corpse. After returning Wang Buyi's Yin Official Seal, Xu Yi refused to lend him the Four-Colored Seal, and Wang Buyi prepared to act against him.

• Wang Buyi guarded Xu Yi through his long breakthrough, and Xu Yi recovered and thanked him for helping bring the surrounding forces into order.
• Xu Yi confirmed that he had ignited multiple main stars, and Desolate Charming entered his body and discovered the Twenty-Eight Mansions in both Xu Yi and the Crimson Flame Thunder Monkey's corpse.
• Xu Yi used the Four-Colored Seal to retrieve Wang Buyi's Yin Official Seal from the corpse and returned it to him.
• Wang Buyi asked to borrow the Four-Colored Seal, but Xu Yi refused, prompting Wang Buyi to threaten him.
• Wang Buyi checked that the returned Yin Official Seal was genuine, and Xu Yi warned him to examine it more carefully before celebrating.

Xu Yi used the altered Yin Official Seal to make Wang Buyi submit, then asked him to help advance his Dao Integration cultivation. By drawing on the Twenty-Eight Mansions and rapidly refining beads, Xu Yi reached perfection in the Dao Integration Realm, while Wang Buyi watched in astonishment and helped him.

• Wang Buyi discovered Xu Yi had altered the Yin Official Seal and conceded, asking what Xu Yi wanted him to do.
• Xu Yi asked Wang Buyi to guard him while he cultivated the main stars he had lit to higher color grades.
• Xu Yi refined Incense Beads and Immortal Spirit Beads, drawing stellar power from the Twenty-Eight Mansions as Wang Buyi assumed he was wasting them.
• Xu Yi advanced through the Dao Integration levels in a short time, with green, white, black, and purple lights appearing behind him.
• When Xu Yi ran out of Incense Beads, Wang Buyi gave him four without complaint.
• After refining the third bead, Xu Yi released golden Qi and reached perfection in the Dao Integration Realm.

Xu Yi condensed a rare Star Spirit Essence and refused Wang Buyi’s offer to trade for it, learning that it could imbue his spiritual power with the strength of a Ghost Immortal. After Wang Buyi advised him to seek a command token and Immortal official status to protect himself from the Jiangbei Earth God Palace, Xu Yi hid in a cave to cultivate and emerged a month later.

• Xu Yi awakened the stars within two corpses and drew down spiritual power that condensed into a grain-sized Star Spirit Essence.
• Wang Buyi offered resources and protection in exchange for the essence, but Xu Yi refused and promised to consider giving him a speck if he condensed more.
• Xu Yi returned Wang Buyi’s Yin Official Seal, and Wang Buyi warned him to keep the essence secret and seek Immortal official status to guard against the Jiangbei Earth God Palace.
• Wang Buyi advised Xu Yi to obtain a command token and mentioned a family in Jiangnan that could help him secure official status.
• Xu Yi traveled east, concealed himself in an underground cave, cultivated for a month, and emerged gaunt but bright-eyed.

Xu Yi stayed with the Lu family and learned that they were preparing to fight the Zhao family over a spirit spring, with a coveted Order Talisman promised to their chosen champion. When Dong Xiaoshan claimed the fifth place and attacked Xu Yi to assert his dominance, the Lu family elders raised a barrier against the blow.

• Xu Yi persuaded Young Master Lu to let him stay as a guest retainer despite the family's halted recruitment.
• After half a month, Lu Changqing gathered the guest retainers and announced that the Lu and Zhao families would each send five people to fight over their dispute.
• Lu Changqing revealed four selected fighters, including the famed Corpse Sword Chen Fangge, while the remaining position drew eager volunteers.
• Dong Xiaoshan attacked an old man in hemp clothes, claimed the fifth position, and insulted Xu Yi as a rival for the Order Talismans.
• Dong Xiaoshan unleashed a blade of saber energy at Xu Yi, and several Lu family elders joined forces to shield the estate.

Xu Yi persuaded Lu Zhenhai to let the gathered cultivators accompany the Lu Household to the spirit spring and watch the five-person round battle. When the Zhao Household arrived, Dong Xiaoshan volunteered for the first fight, then asked whether the contest was to the death.

• Xu Yi evaded Dong Xiaoshan's attacks, and Patriarch Lu named Dong the fifth contender.
• Xu Yi questioned Patriarch Lu about dismissing the guests and suggested they stay to pressure the Zhao Household.
• Patriarch Lu agreed, and he led the guests aboard a flying vessel to the spirit spring.
• Zhao Lingwu arrived with the Zhao Household, and both sides agreed to begin the five-person round battle.
• Dong Xiaoshan entered the field first, faced a white-clothed youth, and asked Lu Zhenhai whether the match was about victory or life and death.

Old Ancestor Kumoku defeated Bai Qingzhi with his Withered Wood Divine Art and revealed himself as a cultivator reborn through body possession. With the Lu family's fighters shaken, he challenged Chen Fangge to face him.

• Zhao Lingwu insisted the Five-Person Round Battle would be fought to the death, while Lu Zhenhai struggled to find someone willing to fight.
• Dong Xiaoshan withdrew from the challenge, but Bai Qingzhi stepped forward to protect his hard-earned reputation.
• Bai Qingzhi attacked Old Ancestor Kumoku with countless golden particles, but Kumoku trapped and killed him with two leaves from his willow branch.
• Dong Xiaoshan recognized the white-clothed youth as Old Ancestor Kumoku, and Lu Zhenhai realized the battle had turned against the Lu family.
• Old Ancestor Kumoku challenged Chen Fangge, whom the Lu family's formation saw as their only likely match.

Chen Fangge fought Old Ancestor Kumoku over the Gold Order Talisman, but their battle ended with Chen Fangge badly wounded and Kumoku victorious. Xu Yi challenged Lu Zhenhai to take responsibility for the next round, leaving the contest over the spirit spring unresolved.

• Lu Zhenhai promised Chen Fangge the Gold Order Talisman if he helped him through the round, and Chen Fangge entered the arena to face Old Ancestor Kumoku.
• Chen Fangge attacked Old Ancestor Kumoku with golden light, exposing his Soldier Armor Species Demonic Great Law and drawing onlookers’ praise for both fighters.
• Chen Fangge unleashed his Corpse Sword, but an invisible ripple shattered its sword-light, leaving him injured and unable to resist Old Ancestor Kumoku’s attack.
• Xu Yi intervened before Old Ancestor Kumoku could kill Chen Fangge and demanded that Lu Zhenhai coordinate the next move.
• Lu Zhenhai said the Five-Person Round Battle was still ongoing because Zhao Lingwu’s side had won only two rounds, and he asked to discuss who would fight next.

Xu Yi entered the deadly round battle after killing Dong Xiaoshan and demanded the Gold Order Talisman before fighting. He received it and launched an attack on Old Ancestor Kumoku, who answered with his Ancient Cangmu True Intent.

• Xu Yi killed Dong Xiaoshan instantly with his flame beads, shocking the gathered cultivators.
• Xu Yi agreed to fight only if Lu Zhenhai handed over the Gold Order Talisman first, and Lu Zhenhai gave it to him.
• Old Ancestor Kumoku challenged Xu Yi and invited him to strike first, confident in his defenses.
• Xu Yi attacked with flame beads, and Old Ancestor Kumoku sent his Ancient Cangmu True Intent toward Xu Yi's spiritual platform.

Xu Yi defeated and killed Old Ancestor Kumoku with Samadhi Primordial Thunder Righteous Intent, then agreed to fight more matches for Lu Zhenhai after learning Lu's family could help him secure an official post. Zhao Lingwu warned Xu Yi that continuing to intervene would draw him into danger.

• Xu Yi overwhelmed Old Ancestor Kumoku with thunder, ignored his surrender, and killed him with the Thunder Cage Net.
• Xu Yi collected Kumoku's corpse aura and spoils, then introduced himself as Young Master Yiling to Zhao Lingwu and the watching crowd.
• Lu Zhenhai asked Xu Yi to keep fighting, and Xu Yi initially refused because he had urgent business and distrusted Lu.
• Lu Zhenhai told Xu Yi that his family's jade token could help him obtain an official appointment through Song Youlong, so Xu Yi agreed to fight a few more matches.
• Zhao Lingwu warned Xu Yi to quit while he was ahead and stay out of the conflict.

Zhao Lingwu brought Zhang Guanhai into the contest for the Spirit Spring, and Xu Yi agreed to face the immortal’s strike. Zhang Guanhai’s attack was overwhelmed by mysterious stellar power, and the Zhao family conceded the Spirit Spring to Lu Zhenhai’s side before departing.

• Zhao Lingwu summoned Zhang Guanhai and proposed that Xu Yi withstand one of the immortal’s strikes to decide who would claim the Spirit Spring.
• Xu Yi accepted the challenge, and Zhang Guanhai’s flame spear shattered Xu Yi’s lightning barrier and struck toward his brow.
• A burst of stellar power hurled Xu Yi backward and destroyed Zhang Guanhai’s flame figure, leaving Zhang convinced that a powerful cultivator had intervened.
• Lu Zhenhai mocked Zhao Lingwu, who conceded the Spirit Spring and hurried away with the Zhao family after Zhang Guanhai departed.

Xu Yi obtained Lu Zhenhai’s jade token and visited Song Youlong to request help, offering five Incense Beads as a gift. Song Youlong agreed to honor the token, then asked Xu Yi to lend him the Four-Colored Seal to examine.

• Xu Yi frightened Lu Zhenhai with a lightning strike and took the jade token from him.
• Chen Fangge thanked Xu Yi for saving his life and gave him a Ruyi Pearl to establish contact.
• Xu Yi traveled to Song Youlong’s mansion and presented the jade token and five Incense Beads while explaining his request.
• Song Youlong promised to help because of his old friendship with the Lu family’s ancestor, then asked to handle Xu Yi’s Four-Colored Seal.

Xu Yi killed Cao Cangshui and Song Youlong after they tried to seize his treasures and corpse, then recovered while Huangmei examined their resources. He discovered the blank appointment writ he had sought: a substantive post as City God of Anlu City God's Mansion.

• Song Youlong summoned Cao Cangshui to confront Xu Yi and demand the corpse.
• Song Youlong attacked Xu Yi, but Xu Yi killed Cao Cangshui and then refined Song Youlong with the Thunder Cage Net.
• Xu Yi collapsed from the strain, recovered in the concealed courtyard, and examined the two Ghost Immortals' resources.
• Huangmei emerged from the Starry Sky Ring, absorbed the men's memories, and told Xu Yi that their Gold Order Talismans held Incense Spirit Essence.
• Huangmei found a blank writ of appointment among Song Youlong's resources, naming Xu Yi to the substantive post of City God of Anlu City God's Mansion.

Xu Yi registered the Gold Order Talisman and secured an official post as Anlu City God, then encountered Li Jinhuan, the Divine Lord of Jiangbei Earth God Palace, who confronted him over killing Song Youlong and Cao Cangshui. The chapter ended with Li Jinhuan challenging Xu Yi’s confidence and asking whether he thought he could fight his way out of the Eastern Judgment Prefecture.

• Xu Yi bound the Gold Order Talisman to himself, learned that it gathered Incense Spirit Essence, and muddled the memories of witnesses before slipping out of Song Mansion.
• Xu Yi traveled to the Eastern Judgment Prefecture, registered his identity, and obtained a duplicate register for Anlu City God's Mansion.
• While leaving the mountain, Xu Yi met Li Jinhuan, who introduced himself as the newly appointed Divine Lord of Jiangbei Earth God Palace.
• Li Jinhuan accused Xu Yi of killing Song Youlong and Cao Cangshui and said he would kill him after they finished their tea.
• Xu Yi calmly offered Li Jinhuan tea, and Li Jinhuan challenged him to explain how he expected to fight and escape the Eastern Judgment Prefecture.

Xu Yi secured Official Status and avoided Li Jinhuan’s attempt to entrap him, agreeing to owe him a favor. As Xu Yi prepared to take up his post as Anlu City God, Mu Kuang arrived to arrest him over the murders of Song Youlong and Cao Cangshui, and Xu Yi challenged the legality of the accusation.

• Xu Yi refused to confess to Li Jinhuan, who abandoned his plan to attack him after he obtained Official Status.
• Li Jinhuan demanded that Xu Yi owe him a favor in exchange for the trouble caused by the destruction of the Huaiyou City God's Mansion and the deaths of Cao Cangshui and Song Youlong.
• Xu Yi left to take up his post as Anlu City God, but Mu Kuang, Director of the Punishment Department, confronted him.
• Xu Yi cited the Great Edict of the Underworld to object when Mu Kuang's men tried to seize him.
• Mu Kuang said Xu Yi was a prime suspect in the murders of Song Youlong and Cao Cangshui, and Xu Yi demanded to know the grounds for suspicion.

Xu Yi talked his way out of Mu Kuang’s suspicions over the deaths of Dian Junming, Song Youlong, and Cao Cangshui, then arrived in Anlu City and used the Gold Order Talisman to alter the City God statues to resemble himself. He began considering how to secure enough incense offerings to advance toward becoming a ghost immortal.

• Mu Kuang confronted Xu Yi about his links to the dead gods, but Xu Yi denied wrongdoing and pointed out that a Harmonization cultivator could not have killed two ghost immortals.
• Mu Kuang released Xu Yi for lack of evidence, while his attendant complained about Xu Yi’s disrespect and Mu Kuang said the encounter had made his work more interesting.
• Huang Mei warned Xu Yi that Mu Kuang would keep watching him, but Xu Yi said he welcomed the attention.
• Xu Yi entered Anlu City and used the Gold Order Talisman to change the Anlu City God statue and the statues in the city’s other five City God Temples to resemble himself.
• Xu Yi considered the duties and limited incense offerings of his new position and focused on gathering Incense Spirit Essence from the six City God Temples to become a ghost immortal.

After taking office as Anlu City God, Xu Yi spent a month learning his duties before Liu Qingping delivered an order reprimanding and fining him for neglecting his post. Xu Yi pretended he could not pay and asked his fellow officials for help, while Liu Qingping pressed him to resign or face harsher punishment.

• Xu Yi entered Anlu City God's Mansion, where officials welcomed him and Liu Qingping introduced himself as the envoy overseeing incense offerings.
• Xu Yi familiarized himself with the mansion and its territory, and used the Four-Colored Seal to transfer Incense Spirit Essence from other officials' talismans into his Gold Order Talisman.
• Liu Qingping arrived with several local gods and officials and announced that Xu Yi had been reprimanded and fined thirty Incense Beads for neglecting his duties.
• Xu Yi accepted the order but acted unable to pay the fine and asked his fellow officials to lend him Incense Beads.
• Liu Qingping warned Xu Yi that he could resign to avoid the fine, but failure to pay could cost him his position and bring further penalties.

Xu Yi let Liu Qingping believe he had been forced to surrender the City God position, then struck Liu and his allies when they underestimated him. He exposed Liu’s role in the shortfall of incense offerings and began turning the officials against him.

• Xu Yi appeared to accept Liu Qingping’s demand to consider stepping down, while Liu settled into the Anlu City God’s Mansion and prepared for his inauguration.
• Liu Qingping, Jiang Chun, and Xie Hua mocked Xu Yi and discussed his expected departure, but Xu returned and challenged them.
• Xu Yi seized Jiang Chun and beat him, then used Samadhi Primordial Thunder Righteous Intent to defeat Liu Qingping and Xie Hua.
• Xu Yi summoned Kong Donglai, Chen Fangzhou, Deng Wenyuan, and Zhu Hui, ordering them to seize Liu Qingping and Xie Hua as rebels.
• Xu Yi questioned Kong Donglai about the Zhang River’s missing incense offerings, and Kong identified Inspector Liu Qingping as the instigator.

Xu Yi exposed Liu Qingping’s scheme to sabotage the Jing River incense offerings, killed Jiang Chun, and secured confessions from Liu Qingping’s accomplices. After revealing that he had already paid the extraordinary fine Liu Qingping arranged, Xu Yi saw Liu Qingping’s last hope collapse, but a booming voice interrupted him before he could act.

• Kong Donglai and the other River God subordinates confessed that Liu Qingping had orchestrated the drop in Jing River incense offerings to undermine Xu Yi.
• Xu Yi cited the Underworld law against excessive ceremony and killed Jiang Chun after Jiang Chun denied the offense and Xu Yi showed proof of his admission.
• Chen Fangzhou, Deng Wenyuan, Zhu Hui, and Xie Hua testified that Liu Qingping had ordered them to sabotage Xu Yi.
• Liu Qingping threatened Xu Yi with the thirty-Incense-Bead fine imposed through Liu Qingping’s uncle, but Xu Yi revealed that he had already paid it.
• Liu Qingping lost hope as Xu Yi prepared to speak, then a booming voice interrupted them.

Xu Yi deflected Mu Kuang’s attempt to investigate Jiang Chun’s death and the violence against Liu Qingping by keeping everyone aligned on his account. After Mu Kuang left, Xu Yi demanded thirty Incense Beads from Liu Qingping and gave him three days to pay.

• Mu Kuang arrived and questioned Xu Yi about Jiang Chun’s death and the injuries to Xie Hua and Liu Qingping, while everyone supported Xu Yi’s version of events.
• Mu Kuang encouraged Liu Qingping to accuse Xu Yi, but Liu Qingping denied needing justice and accepted responsibility for the excessive treatment.
• Xu Yi challenged Mu Kuang’s legal knowledge, and Mu Kuang left, warning his attendants that the conflict with Xu Yi and Liu Wenyuan had only begun.
• Xu Yi dismissed Xie Hua, Kong Donglai, and the others, then told Liu Qingping to repay thirty Incense Beads within three days or face the evidence being handed to Mu Kuang.