Chapter Summaries

Qi Ming recruited Xu Yi to help retrieve a superior cauldron from a tomb so he could refine the Divine Essence Pill. Xu Yi heard Qi Ming’s reasons and weighed the risks and rewards, but the chapter ended before he agreed to help.

• Xu Yi recognized Qi Ming as the Pill King who had bought the Ginseng Baby at Linglong Pavilion.
• Qi Ming explained that he had failed to refine a single Divine Essence Pill and suspected his cauldron was the problem.
• Qi Ming told Xu Yi that he had discovered a letter in On Cauldrons pointing to a Supreme Elder’s tomb and its buried treasures.
• Xu Yi asked why Qi Ming needed his help, and Qi Ming explained that the tomb might be dangerous and that he distrusted rivals within the Pill Cauldron Sect.
• Qi Ming said he had chosen Xu Yi for his martial prowess and because he believed Xu Yi repaid kindness and kept faith.

Xu Yi agreed to accompany Elder Qi on a tomb expedition in exchange for help obtaining Divine Essence Pills, and received a Sumeru Ring as a gift. After discussing preparations, Xu Yi left Yuan Qinghua with money and instructions before setting off.

• Xu Yi agreed to work with Elder Qi and asked how many Divine Essence Pills he might receive for helping recover the treasured cauldron.
• Elder Qi gave Xu Yi a Sumeru Ring, explained how to use it, and warned that anyone could open it if it were lost.
• Xu Yi discovered that the ring could store his waist pouch but could not hold living things.
• Xu Yi and Elder Qi discussed preparing medicines and ghost-fighting implements, settled on a time and meeting place, and parted ways.
• The next morning, Xu Yi gave Yuan Qinghua three thousand gold and told him to keep buying Precious Medicine and seek news of spiritual soil before leaving.

Xu Yi visited Linglong Pavilion after surviving the Tiger Fetus Tendon-Expanding Pill and asked Fatty Steward for an Yin artifact to prepare for a tomb raid with Qi Ming. Fatty Steward warned him about hiding the signs of his future Sea Transformation and argued that Xu Yi’s vigorous blood vitality made an ordinary Yin artifact unnecessary, leaving Xu Yi unconvinced.

• Xu Yi returned to Linglong Pavilion, signed autographs for the brown-haired girl, and met Fatty Steward.
• Fatty Steward learned that Xu Yi had taken the Tiger Fetus Tendon-Expanding Pill and survived, then witnessed the force of Xu Yi’s punch.
• Fatty Steward warned Xu Yi to conceal any unusual signs when his dantian underwent Sea Transformation, and Xu Yi thanked him.
• Xu Yi explained that he wanted an Yin artifact to protect himself from ghosts during a tomb raid with Qi Ming.
• Fatty Steward said Linglong Pavilion’s ordinary Yin artifacts were unnecessary for Xu Yi because his vigorous blood vitality already had strong yang energy, but Xu Yi recalled that Qi Ming had agreed an artifact was needed.

Xu Yi sought advice about obtaining a Yin artifact to counter ghostly beings, then confronted Elder Song at the Alchemy Hall. The chapter left Elder Song embarrassed after Xu Yi rejected his recommendation to join the Alchemy Hall Main Gate in Zhongzhou.

• Xu Yi asked Fatty Steward how to obtain a Yin artifact and learned that an extreme-yang blood artifact could harm ghostly beings even if he could not activate it.
• Xu Yi went to the Alchemy Hall and corrected Elder Song's claim that he had passed Guili Room's test in one day, saying he had finished in half a day.
• Elder Song admitted he had sent Xu Yi to Guili Room as a test and offered him a recommendation letter to the Alchemy Hall Main Gate.
• Xu Yi rejected the letter, questioned Elder Song's motives, and left the elder unable to answer.

Xu Yi pressed Elder Song to settle their past dispute by forging a ghost-countering blood artifact, but learned that blood artifacts were tightly controlled and costly. Elder Song warned him that leaving Guang'an to search for tombs would expose him to the many enemies waiting for a chance to kill him.

• Xu Yi reminded Elder Song that he had buried him in a pit and asked him to forge a blood artifact that could counter ghosts.
• Elder Song explained that the Alchemy Hall only forged blood artifacts for main hall commissions, and that even wealthy Qi Sea Realm experts could wait years to obtain one.
• Elder Song warned Xu Yi that his Dragon Crocodile Armor would not protect him against a blood-artifact wielder like Gao Junmo.
• Elder Song sarcastically suggested Xu Yi might forge a blood artifact himself, and Xu Yi briefly considered the idea before concealing his thoughts.
• Xu Yi claimed he wanted a Yin artifact for protection while searching the mountains for ancient tombs, and Elder Song rebuked him for risking his life outside the city while many people wanted him dead.

Xu Yi told Elder Song he intended to leave Guang'an City when the time came, then asked Steward Xie to help him obtain blood weapon scraps so he could experiment with forging a blood weapon. Steward Xie explained the restrictions and inspection alarm, and Xu Yi pressed him about how he could smuggle out ordinary scraps but not blood weapons.

• Xu Yi thanked Elder Song for his concern but said he would leave Guang'an City when necessary, and Elder Song offered him support and his name if trouble arose.
• Xu Yi visited Steward Xie at the Guili Room and asked for help obtaining blood weapon scraps to take outside and use for forging experiments.
• Xu Yi explained that his Soul Power, perception, and the iron essence's ability to break down defective weapons gave him confidence he could succeed.
• Steward Xie said blood weapon scraps were forbidden to Menial Workers, required a large security deposit, and could not leave the Guili Room because the inspection platform would sound an alarm.
• Xu Yi challenged Steward Xie to explain why he could arrange for ordinary scrap weapons to pass the inspection platform but could not do the same for blood weapons.

Xu Yi bribed Steward Xie to help him enter the Guili Room’s restricted blood-artifact treasury and searched its shelves for a Yin artifact. He reached the upper levels, where the artifacts’ prices stunned him, and the chapter left him considering the vast difference in their value.

• Xu Yi offered Steward Xie five thousand gold to help him obtain a blood artifact, and Steward Xie agreed to take the risk.
• Steward Xie led Xu Yi through a hidden stone door into a treasury filled with weapons and armor.
• Xu Yi found the Yin artifacts and rejected the lower shelves, asking Steward Xie to raise him toward the higher ones.
• Steward Xie operated the footboards to lift Xu Yi, who inspected the artifacts and saw that the topmost one required a twelve-thousand-gold deposit.
• Xu Yi compared the broken artifact’s price with the eight thousand gold offered for his swift wings and was left astonished by the difference.

Xu Yi learned about the differences between utmost-yang and utmost-yin blood weapons and the history of the broken Soul-Slaying Sword. Despite Steward Xie's warning that the sword could not be reforged, Xu Yi chose to buy it.

• Xu Yi asked Steward Xie why Yin artifacts did not all use utmost-yang materials, and Steward Xie explained that utmost-yin artifacts could restrain weaker ghosts as well.
• Steward Xie described how utmost-yang blood weapons were effective against martial artists and recounted the Soul-Slaying Sword's origins and destruction.
• Xu Yi learned that the sword's main material was Three Yin Wood, a rare substance that Alchemy Hall's great alchemists had been unable to break down or reforge.
• Xu Yi chose the Soul-Slaying Sword, and Steward Xie urged him to reconsider before helping him obtain it.

Xu Yi secretly bought the Soul-Slaying Sword from Alchemy Hall with Steward Xie's help, then brought it to Guangwu Pavilion to extract the Three Yin Wood. The iron essence shattered the sword in less than half an hour, leaving Xu Yi with the coveted fragments.

• Xu Yi paid twelve thousand gold for the Soul-Slaying Sword, and Steward Xie smuggled it out of Alchemy Hall without attracting notice.
• Xu Yi left Guang'an City’s Alchemy Hall and later paid Steward Xie the remaining three thousand gold for delivering the sword.
• Xu Yi spent nearly five thousand gold on supplies, then rented a refining room at Guangwu Pavilion.
• Xu Yi placed the Soul-Slaying Sword in the furnace with the iron essence and waited for it to break down.
• The iron essence shattered the sword in less than half an hour, and Xu Yi picked up the icy Three Yin Wood fragments.

Xu Yi began practicing blood-weapon forging with the Three Yin Wood he had extracted, spending much of his remaining fortune on materials and supplies. After six failed attempts, he used iron essence to recover the Three Yin Wood fragments and prepared to continue.

• Xu Yi wondered why iron essence had extracted Three Yin Wood from the Soul Severing Sword so quickly, though he did not know its extraction method bypassed the tangled Five Elements.
• Xu Yi gathered his forging manuals, costly materials, and pills, then set up a furnace in Guangwu Pavilion.
• Xu Yi combined Three Yin Wood with auxiliary materials, treated the resulting pellet with his blood, and began hammering it while studying its vibrations.
• Xu Yi's first forging attempt broke apart after ninety-three blows, and his second lasted 134 blows before failing.
• Xu Yi made six failed attempts, then used separation flame and iron essence to recover Three Yin Wood from the scraps.

Xu Yi spent a month using the iron essence, his perception, and his endurance to master forging a blood weapon, finally creating a crude but powerful iron rod. He named it the Wailing Stick and prepared to take it into the world.

• Xu Yi forged a lowest-grade iron rod from Three Yin Wood, then broke it down with the furnace to reclaim its materials.
• Xu Yi exhausted himself through repeated experiments and slept for two days before returning to the smithy.
• Xu Yi repeatedly forged and broke apart larger pieces until he could consolidate the materials into a three-foot iron rod.
• Xu Yi caught the finished black rod as it flew from the furnace and sensed its power to overwhelm an opponent with visions of corpses and wailing ghosts.
• Xu Yi named the weapon the Wailing Stick and declared that they would travel the world together.

Xu Yi met Qi Ming at Green Willow Village, and the two began a discreet journey downstream by boat. They disguised themselves and agreed to pose as brothers, leaving Guang'an City behind with their destination and success still ahead of them.

• Qi Ming met Xu Yi at the riverbank and was startled by how gaunt and exhausted Xu Yi looked.
• Xu Yi insisted he was well, and Qi Ming gave him Qi Replenishing Pills before they boarded a small boat downstream.
• Xu Yi and Qi Ming agreed to call each other younger and older brother to conceal their relationship from outsiders.
• Xu Yi used the Hundred Transformations Box to disguise himself as a sickly, yellow-faced man, while Qi Ming made himself look much older.
• Xu Yi assured Qi Ming that he had left Guang'an City with a Patrol Division escort and that no one else knew of his departure.
• Qi Ming brought food and dry rations from the lower deck as the two continued their journey.

Xu Yi guided a boat through Longjing Pass, where he killed a Great Green Flood Dragon that attacked the wooden carving he kept for Qiu Wa. At dawn, he and Qi Ming admired the scenery, and Qi Ming explained Guang'an's Treasure Gathering Convention as they continued downriver.

• Xu Yi took the helm through the dangerous Longjing Pass while praying for Qiu Wa to wake.
• A Great Green Flood Dragon lunged for Qiu Wa's wooden carving, and Xu Yi smashed its head with his fists.
• Qi Ming recognized the dead beast as a Great Green Flood Dragon and marveled at Xu Yi's strength.
• At dawn, Xu Yi recited a poem and credited it to Liao Chen, a wandering monk from the Western Regions.
• Qi Ming told Xu Yi about Guang'an's annual Treasure Gathering Convention as they sailed toward the river mouth.

Xu Yi and Qi Ming reached Villain Ridge and found a mysterious, brightly lit grand hall blocking the valley entrance. A bandit leader arrived and mistook Xu Yi for a guest at Madam Jiang’s Treasure-Appreciation Gathering, giving them a chance to learn more about the gathering.

• Xu Yi destroyed their boat, and he and Qi Ming traveled through the forest toward Villain Ridge.
• Xu Yi noticed that all wildlife had vanished near the valley, so he and Qi Ming took Grain Abstinence Pills and proceeded cautiously.
• They found a grand hall blocking the valley entrance, and Qi Ming suggested taking a long detour.
• Xu Yi chose to approach the hall, and three riders arrived, led by a bearded giant.
• Xu Yi introduced himself as the chief of Eagle Worry Gorge and claimed Madam Jiang had invited him to her gathering.
• The bearded man welcomed Xu Yi as a fellow guest and joked that Tiger Head Leader would struggle to win Madam Jiang’s heart.

Xu Yi and Qi Ming learned about Madam Jiang from a bandit who tried to rob them, then forced him and his companions to guide them into the Grand Hall. The chapter ended with Xu Yi and Qi Ming seated among Villain Ridge’s bandits, where Xu Yi noticed something that made him alert.

• Xu Yi paid the bearded bandit for information about Madam Jiang, but the bandits ambushed him and trapped Qi Ming in a Thousand Knot Net.
• Xu Yi defeated the three bandits, freed Qi Ming by tearing the net apart, and questioned the bandits about Madam Jiang.
• The bandits said Madam Jiang had lived in Villain Valley for three years, was known for her charity and beauty, and had invited the local bandit leaders to view a treasure.
• Xu Yi gave the bandits Heartbreak Pills and ordered the bearded man to help him enter the Grand Hall, while Qi Ming threatened them into cooperating.
• Xu Yi and Qi Ming climbed to the Grand Hall with the bearded man and entered a feast attended by nearly a hundred bandits.
• After Xu Yi and Qi Ming took their seats, Xu Yi noticed something inside the hall and quietly signaled Qi Ming to move closer.

Xu Yi recognized that the green-robed beauty’s banquet was using music and an unseen drug to bewitch the bandits, and he warned Qi Ming to resist it. After the Tiger Head Leader restored order, the beauty began presenting the treasures she had invited them to see.

• Qi Ming nearly reached for the food, but Xu Yi warned him to wait and act only when he did.
• A green-robed beauty entered the hall and enchanted the guests, while Xu Yi kept Qi Ming alert with a warning and a mind-calming pill.
• Xu Yi sensed a colorless, odorless drug spreading through the hall and refused Qi Ming’s offer of a pill, trusting his control over his body.
• When the dancing stopped, several bewitched bandits chased the performers, and the Tiger Head Leader killed them by hurling them into a wall.
• The Tiger Head Leader asked the green-robed beauty about the treasures, and she revealed a flawless jade carving.

Madam Jiang lured the bandits into a deadly contest with promises of marriage and riches, but Xu Yi recognized her deception and attacked her. Her disguise began to unravel, and Qi Ming warned the survivors that she was a demon.

• Madam Jiang bewitched the bandits with her beauty and promised to marry whoever survived a battle on the platform, offering her fortune and servants as well.
• The bandits fought savagely on the platform, and Xu Yi joined them with Qi Ming to preserve his cover.
• Xu Yi used Return to Origin Steps to ambush Madam Jiang, but she recovered and claimed she would marry him, turning the bandits against him.
• Madam Jiang’s face became monstrous as her illusion weakened, while she rose into the air and sent servants and women to attack Xu Yi.
• Xu Yi killed the attackers with Sonic Flying Daggers, revealing that their bodies were frogs, toads, pheasants, and hares, and Qi Ming shouted that Madam Jiang was a demon.

Xu Yi exposed Madam Jiang as a Yin Vine Demon and fought to protect Qi Ming and the bandits from her blood-draining vines. After the demon slaughtered many of the bandits, Qi Ming revealed a black bead that burst into ghostly flames and set one of her vines ablaze.

• Xu Yi exposed Madam Jiang's illusion with Supreme Yang Blood, revealing her true form and the demons in the hall.
• Madam Jiang transformed into a Yin Vine Demon and attacked the crowd with her withered vines.
• Qi Ming warned the bandits that the demon could absorb their blood as nourishment unless it stained her head.
• Xu Yi used Return to Origin Steps to rescue Qi Ming from the demon's vines while the demon crushed captured bandits and absorbed their blood.
• Qi Ming said he had his own means and threw a black bead that burst into ghostly blue flames, setting a vine ablaze.

Xu Yi used Thunder Fire Beads to exploit the old demon’s fear of fire while Tiger Head Leader and the bandits fought off its lesser demons. After Xu Yi burned the old demon badly and stopped it from attacking the bandits, the demon backed down, though it still believed its ability to fly gave it control of the fight.

• Xu Yi revealed that the old demon feared fire, and Tiger Head Leader split the bandits between holding formation and setting its vines ablaze.
• The old demon summoned its lesser demons, so Xu Yi left the bandits to fight them and took Qi Ming onto a roof beam to confront it.
• Xu Yi used Thunder Fire Beads to burn the old demon’s vines when they broke through the wall, foiling its attempt to distract him.
• The old demon rushed toward Tiger Head Leader and the bandits, but Xu Yi intercepted it and burned its head with another Thunder Fire Bead.
• The injured old demon offered to let Xu Yi leave and, despite fearing his strange movement technique, remained confident that its ability to fly would keep it safe.

Xu Yi used the iron essence and a feigned injury to lure the old demon into a burning trap. After setting the demon ablaze, Xu Yi pulled Qi Ming to safety on a boulder amid the fire.

• Xu Yi refused to explain the white light to Qi Ming, keeping the iron essence secret.
• The old demon fled from Xu Yi, then attacked him with debris and struck him down with a roof beam.
• Xu Yi revealed that he had faked his injury to draw the old demon close and make him vulnerable to the Thunder Fire Beads.
• The old demon severed his burning vine-hand and tried to flee, but Xu Yi hooked his head with the iron essence and caught up to him.
• Xu Yi grabbed the old demon and plunged with him into the fire, protected by the Dragon Crocodile Armor.
• Xu Yi rescued Qi Ming from the flames and placed him on a boulder while he stood unharmed in the fire.