Chapter Summaries

Lin Taichu and Elder Li hurried to the Lingxiao Sect after the Netherworld Cult attacked it with a horde of Zombie Puppets. The puppets were defeated, but Lin Taichu examined five Disciples exposed to their blood or claws, leaving their condition uncertain.

• Lin Taichu warned Elder Li that the Strength Enhancing Soup might not be enough against the Netherworld Cult's unknown puppet forces and forbidden arts.
• A disciple reported that the Netherworld Cult had attacked the Lingxiao Sect with numerous puppets, so Lin Taichu and Elder Li rushed there with the Healing Immortal Medical Hall's Core Disciples.
• At the Lingxiao Sect's mountain gate, Lin Taichu identified the attackers as weak, low-grade Zombie Puppets that stopped moving when their heads were damaged.
• The Lingxiao Sect's Disciples destroyed the puppets, and Lin Taichu suspected the attack had another purpose beyond defeating the sect.
• After learning that five Disciples had been splashed with puppet blood or scratched by the puppets, Lin Taichu examined them with Silver Needles, but their exposed areas showed no visible symptoms.

Lin Taichu discovered that the Netherworld Cult’s puppets had infected Lingxiao Sect disciples with a virus that could turn people into Zombie Puppets, then devised an antidote and treated the infected. He warned the Healing Immortal Medical Hall elders that the outbreak was only the beginning and proposed infiltrating Heavenly Demon Mountain to find the Netherworld Cult’s virus base.

• Lin Taichu isolated five Lingxiao Sect disciples after suspecting the puppets’ blood and bodily fluids carried a virus.
• On the fourth day, Lin Taichu confirmed the virus had infected the disciples and ordered the Sect Master to isolate them and monitor everyone who cleared the battlefield.
• Lin Taichu identified Calming Heart Grass and Earth Dragon Vine as useful herbs, then used Nine-grade Lotus Platform petals to prepare an antidote.
• Lin Taichu treated the five disciples and three more infected battlefield workers, and the antidote improved their condition.
• Lin Taichu told the Healing Immortal Medical Hall elders that the Netherworld Cult sought to spread the virus and proposed sending skilled disciples to infiltrate Heavenly Demon Mountain.

Wang Xiaohu and Chen Zhiming infiltrated the Netherworld Cult’s lair disguised as zombies and learned that its elders controlled the corpse horde while the Cult Master refined a powerful Golden Armor Puppet. After discovering how to disrupt the horde, they escaped the cave at night to report back.

• Lin Taichu sent Wang Xiaohu and Chen Zhiming to infiltrate Heavenly Demon Mountain with three Core Disciples supporting them from the outskirts.
• Wang Xiaohu and Chen Zhiming disguised themselves as infected and let Netherworld Cult Disciples chain them inside a cave filled with zombies.
• Wang Xiaohu recognized a Wudang Sect elder among the powerful zombie puppets and overheard the Netherworld Cult elders discuss their dwindling living Disciples and the Cult Master’s Golden Armor Puppet.
• Wang Xiaohu realized the elders’ wooden staffs controlled separate groups of zombies and signaled Chen Zhiming that the elders were their targets.
• After nightfall, Wang Xiaohu used Lin Taichu’s Sleeping Potion on the cave guards, and he and Chen Zhiming slipped out toward the valley exit.

After learning how the Netherworld Cult controlled its zombie horde, Lin Taichu organized an ambush against its elders and led an assault on Elder Zhou at Li Family Village. The battle began with Lin Taichu struggling against a powerful Zombie Puppet while Wang Xiaohu and Chen Zhiming engaged Elder Zhou.

• Wang Xiaohu reported that the Netherworld Cult’s elders controlled its zombies and that one elder inspected the horde just before dawn, prompting Lin Taichu to plan a two-pronged attack.
• Lin Taichu equipped the teams with Spirit Breaking Powder and Strength Enhancing Soup, then sent watchers to track the Netherworld Cult’s elders.
• Watchers reported Elder Zhou looting Li Family Village with more than a hundred zombies, and Lin Taichu led a team to confront him.
• Lin Taichu’s disciples attacked the Netherworld Cult’s followers and rescued the villagers as Lin Taichu faced a Zombie Puppet made from the chieftain of Heifeng Stockade.
• Lin Taichu slowed the puppet with Spirit Breaking Powder, but its skull deflected his silver needles, while Wang Xiaohu and Chen Zhiming attacked Elder Zhou.
• Elder Zhou blocked Wang Xiaohu and Chen Zhiming with his staff and unleashed black qi toward them.

Lin Taichu captured Elder Zhou and subdued the uncontrolled zombie, then joined the other teams to clear the valley and destroy the Netherworld Cult’s virus production base. He surrounded the Cult Master’s stone house while the Cult Master refined a Golden Armor Puppet, and the chapter ended with a despairing scream from inside.

• Lin Taichu seized Elder Zhou’s Skeleton Staff, briefly controlled the zombie, and used Spirit Breaking Powder to stop it after it killed a Disciple.
• Lin Taichu signaled that his mission was complete, joined Elder Li, and led the group into the valley to clear the disorganized zombie horde.
• Lin Taichu found the hidden Stone Gate, forced Elder Zhou to provide his token, and had the Disciples destroy the virus materials and formulas inside.
• Lin Taichu learned that the Cult Master was refining a Golden Armor Puppet, then set traps and surrounded the locked stone house instead of charging in.
• After about an hour of frantic chanting and metallic clashing, a despairing scream came from inside the stone house and the chanting stopped.

Mochenzi emerged in the Golden Armor Puppet, revealed himself as the ancient founder of the Corpse Puppet Technique, and attacked Lin Taichu’s group. Lin Taichu ordered a retreat after their weapons and techniques failed to harm him, leaving the group battered and many Disciples dead.

• Mochenzi came out of the stone house in golden armor, killed the four bound elders, and identified himself as the Corpse Puppet Technique’s founder who had possessed the Cult Master.
• Mochenzi declared his intention to rule the Jianghu and crushed the Disciples’ defenses before Lin Taichu and the others attacked him.
• Lin Taichu’s Silver Needles, the elders’ sword qi, and the Disciples’ Spirit Breaking Powder all failed to damage Mochenzi’s armor.
• Lin Taichu used the Skeleton Staff’s incantation to briefly halt Mochenzi, then tried to stab a crack in his mask, but Mochenzi caught his wrist.
• Hall Master Zhou interrupted Mochenzi with a hammer, and Lin Taichu ordered the group to retreat after Elder Li warned they could not win.
• Lin Taichu’s group escaped the valley and counted twelve dead Disciples and more than twenty wounded, while Elder Li and Hall Master Zhou were also injured.

Lin Taichu learned that the Soul Suppressing Cauldron might be the key to stopping Mochenzi, who remained outside Qinghe Town and slowly recovered his strength. After finding an abandoned altar on Heavenly Demon Mountain, Lin Taichu discovered a hidden cave and entered a stone chamber containing a damaged scroll.

• Lin Taichu ordered the survivors to retreat to Qinghe Town, where he arranged the defenses and gathered the sect representatives to discuss Mochenzi.
• Hall Master Zhou recalled that the Soul Suppressing Cauldron had been used to seal Mochenzi three hundred years earlier, but no one knew where it was.
• Mochenzi appeared outside Qinghe Town and stood motionless, while Lin Taichu found records explaining that the cauldron could suppress Mochenzi's soul and that his sealed lair was deep within Heavenly Demon Mountain.
• Lin Taichu sent Lingxiao Sect disciples to search Heavenly Demon Mountain and assigned Hundred Herbs Hall people to seek information; he later learned the disciples had found an abandoned altar but no cauldron.
• Lin Taichu traveled to the altar with Wang Xiaohu, Chen Zhiming, and several disciples, where he copied a rune resembling one found in Xuanjizi's blood.
• Wang Xiaohu spotted a concealed cave near the altar, and Lin Taichu entered it and found a damaged scroll hanging in an otherwise empty stone chamber.

Lin Taichu learned that the Soul Suppressing Cauldron was hidden in Kunlun, but Mochenzi reached Qinghe Town and revealed his version of the events that led to his sealing. Lin Taichu offered him a secluded medicinal garden in exchange for destroying the zombies and guarding it, and Mochenzi reacted with interest when he heard it held a Nine-grade Lotus Platform.

• Lin Taichu discovered that the Soul Suppressing Cauldron was hidden in Kunlun and sent a messenger to ask the Kunlun Sect for it.
• Mochenzi approached Qinghe Town and told Lin Taichu that the sects had attacked him first, then showed a memory of his disciples being killed and his home burned.
• Mochenzi said he had originally developed the Corpse Puppet Technique to preserve the dead, and that the Netherworld Cult Master had abused it to make zombies.
• Lin Taichu proposed that Mochenzi destroy the zombies and cultivate under guard in his secluded medicinal garden in exchange for herbs and a place to stabilize his soul.
• Lin Taichu offered Mochenzi a petal from the garden's Nine-grade Lotus Platform, and Mochenzi asked if he was truly willing to give it up.

Lin Taichu secured Mochenzi’s agreement to guard the medicinal garden for ten years after Mochenzi destroyed the zombies, virus materials, and Netherworld Cult. Mochenzi settled into the garden, leaving Lin Taichu and Qinghe Town with a powerful ally.

• Mochenzi destroyed the zombies and virus materials and disbanded the Netherworld Cult, which Lin Taichu’s investigators confirmed.
• Lin Taichu and Mochenzi signed a soul-sealed contract for Mochenzi to guard the medicinal garden for ten years in exchange for cultivation resources and Nine-grade Lotus Platform petals.
• Lin Taichu took Mochenzi to the medicinal garden, showed him its herbs and cultivation cave, and gave him Soul-Calming Pills and a signal flare.
• Mochenzi promised to protect the garden and began settling into the cave, finding calm after three hundred years of conflict and sealing.
• Lin Taichu returned to Qinghe Town and told Elder Li and Hall Master Zhou that Mochenzi would guard the garden.

Lin Taichu learned that Mochenzi’s improved Corpse Puppet Technique could preserve a dead person’s memories and keep them with loved ones, but its power and medicinal requirements put it far beyond his reach. He kept Mochenzi’s notes for future study and then asked Hall Master Zhou about the medical hall’s cooperation with other sects.

• Over a month, Lin Taichu handled cooperation between the Healing Immortal Medical Hall and other sects and confirmed that the Lingxiao Sect Disciples who had contracted the virus had recovered.
• Lin Taichu visited the medicinal garden, where Mochenzi explained that an improved Corpse Puppet Technique could preserve an intact corpse and its remaining soul without turning the dead into harmful zombies.
• Mochenzi gave Lin Taichu a handwritten copy detailing the technique’s requirements, including at least Initial Stage of Transformation Realm strength and rare, costly medicinal herbs.
• Lin Taichu realized he lacked both the strength and resources to use the technique, but preserved the notes for future study.
• Lin Taichu visited Hundred Herbs Hall and told Hall Master Zhou about the technique’s limits, then asked about cooperation; Hall Master Zhou said the Lingxiao Sect had delivered high-quality medicinal herbs.

Lin Taichu traveled to the Kunlun Sect and treated its critically wounded Ancestor and elders after their battle with the Netherworld Cult. As the patients began recovering, the Southern Fist Sect attacked and demanded Kunlun surrender its territory.

• Lin Taichu returned to the Healing Immortal Medical Hall and accepted the Kunlun Sect's request to treat its critically ill Ancestor.
• Lin Taichu arrived at the battered Kunlun Sect, where Daoist Master Xuanxu led him to Daoist Master Xuanqing and the other wounded elders.
• Lin Taichu diagnosed Daoist Master Xuanqing with a corpse puppet's frigid aura and slow-acting poison, then used acupuncture, medicine, and pills to treat him and the other elders.
• After three days of treatment, Daoist Master Xuanqing stabilized and several unconscious elders awoke.
• Zhao Tianba led the Southern Fist Sect into the Kunlun Sect's mountain gate, attacked its disciples, and demanded that Daoist Master Xuanxu surrender the sect's territory.

Lin Taichu intervened when Zhao Tianba’s Southern Fist Sect attacked the weakened Kunlun Sect, but Zhao Tianba wounded him after a prolonged fight. Daoist Master Xuantong then arrived despite his injuries and confronted Zhao Tianba.

• Zhao Tianba ordered the Southern Fist Sect disciples to drive the Kunlun Sect from its mountain gate, and Lin Taichu stepped in to defend them.
• Lin Taichu injured an attacker and fought Zhao Tianba, surprising both sects with his martial arts.
• Zhao Tianba outlasted Lin Taichu, struck his shoulder, and pressed forward while Daoist Master Xuanxu was held back.
• Daoist Master Xuantong forced himself out of the inner courtyard and ordered Zhao Tianba not to harm anyone.

Daoist Master Xuantong drove Zhao Tianba and the Southern Fist Sect away from Kunlun Sect, but his injuries worsened and Lin Taichu had to treat him. After the Lingxiao Sect and Hundred Herbs Hall arrived with reinforcements, Kunlun Sect prepared for the Southern Fist Sect’s expected return.

• Daoist Master Xuantong struck Zhao Tianba with his remaining primordial spiritual energy, forcing him and the Southern Fist Sect disciples to retreat.
• Daoist Master Xuantong collapsed, and Lin Taichu diagnosed his worsened injuries and treated him with acupuncture and a Spirit Calming Healing Pill.
• Daoist Master Xuanxu thanked Lin Taichu, who warned that Zhao Tianba would return and offered to contact the Lingxiao Sect and Hundred Herbs Hall for help.
• Daoist Master Xuantong and Daoist Master Xuanqing began recovering over the next three days.
• Daoist Master Xuanxu told Lin Taichu that Elder Li and Hall Master Zhou had arrived with disciples from the Lingxiao Sect and Hundred Herbs Hall to support Kunlun Sect.

Zhao Tianba brought allies to seize Kunlun Sect’s mountain gate, but Lingxiao Sect stood with Kunlun and challenged his claim of seeking justice. To avoid a costly battle, Lin Taichu accepted Zhao Tianba’s proposal for a one-on-one duel, leaving the confrontation to be decided by the match.

• A gate disciple warned Lin Taichu and the others that Zhao Tianba had returned with more than a hundred people and leaders from several sects.
• Lin Taichu and Daoist Master Xuantong accused Zhao Tianba of using false claims about Evil Arts to disguise his attempt to seize Kunlun Sect’s territory.
• Zhao Tianba faltered when he saw Lingxiao Sect’s Elder Li and Disciples, but he invoked Jianghu rules and refused to retreat.
• Elder Li defended Lingxiao Sect’s support for its ally, while Lin Taichu warned Zhao Tianba to leave or face him.
• Zhao Tianba proposed a one-on-one duel to end the standoff, and Lin Taichu persuaded Daoist Master Xuantong and Elder Li to accept on the condition that Zhao’s side leave if it lost.

Lin Taichu fought the Southern Fist Sect’s old retainer in a duel over the Kunlun Sect’s mountain gate, using Silver Needles and then a trident to counter the old man’s techniques. As they battled to a standstill, Zhao Tianba urged the old retainer to finish Lin Taichu quickly.

• Zhao Tianba sent his old retainer, a master of the Iron Sand Palm, to fight Lin Taichu.
• Lin Taichu used Silver Needles to distract the old retainer and strike his acupoints, slowing his movements.
• The old retainer activated his Body Protecting Aura, forcing Lin Taichu to abandon his needle attacks and call for his trident.
• Wang Xiaohu threw Lin Taichu his trident, and Lin Taichu fought the old retainer’s Short Blades with skilled weapon techniques.
• Lin Taichu and the old retainer remained evenly matched, and Zhao Tianba shouted for the old retainer to finish the fight quickly.

Lin Taichu and the old retainer fought to exhaustion, and the retainer used a forbidden technique that disarmed Lin Taichu. Lin Taichu seized the opening to throw him down and pummel him, leaving the fight unresolved.

• The old retainer and Lin Taichu traded injuries before charging at each other with their full strength; Lin Taichu's spiritually empowered trident shattered the retainer's Body Protecting Aura.
• The two fought dozens more moves as Elder Li wanted to intervene, but Hall Master Zhou stopped him, while Zhao Tianba urged the old retainer to use his ultimate move.
• The old retainer burned his blood and qi with a Southern Fist Sect forbidden technique, then struck Lin Taichu's trident from his hands and nearly slashed his neck.
• Lin Taichu ducked the old retainer's blade, tackled him to the ground, and punched him repeatedly in the face.

Lin Taichu defeated Old Retainer and drove the Southern Fist Sect away, then spent several days treating the wounded Kunlun Sect members. With the sect running low on medicinal herbs, he set out alone for South Mountain Medicine Garden, where he noticed fresh signs of someone trampling the grass.

• Lin Taichu pinned Old Retainer and won their fight, forcing Zhao Tianba and the Southern Fist Sect to leave.
• Lin Taichu fainted from his injuries and overexertion, then woke the next morning to Daoist Master Xuanqing, Elder Li, and Hall Master Zhou watching over him.
• Lin Taichu spent three days adjusting prescriptions as the injured Kunlun Sect members continued recovering.
• Daoist Master Xuanxu and Elder Li told Lin Taichu that the medicinal herb supplies were nearly gone, and Lin Taichu agreed to gather more at South Mountain Medicine Garden.
• Lin Taichu left the Kunlun Sect alone and spotted fresh trampling along the secluded path.

Lin Taichu was ambushed by Zhao Tianba’s fighters and struggled to escape while wounded and low on spiritual energy. He used Silver Needles and Poison Powder to fight back, but the scar-faced leader pressed the attack and left him at a disadvantage.

• Lin Taichu entered the woods and was surrounded by more than a dozen trained fighters sent by Zhao Tianba.
• Lin Taichu used his Silver Needles and close combat to take down several attackers, but he was cut during the fight.
• Lin Taichu tried to break through the weaker eastern side, but the scar-faced man wounded his back and drove him into a clearing.
• Lin Taichu threatened the fighters with Poison Powder, then scattered it and paralyzed two men who inhaled it.
• Lin Taichu picked up an axe and fought the scar-faced man, but his injuries and depleted spiritual energy put him at a disadvantage.

Lin Taichu survived a Southern Fist Sect ambush, returned to the Kunlun Sect with medicinal herbs, and helped restore its strength with Pills. After learning Zhao Tianba was plotting against the sect, Lin Taichu prepared to return to the Healing Immortal Medical Hall in Qinghe Town.

• Elder Zhang and Lingxiao Sect Disciples rescued Lin Taichu from Zhao Tianba's attackers, captured them, and escorted him to gather medicinal herbs.
• Lin Taichu returned to the Kunlun Sect with Elder Zhang and reported that Zhao Tianba had ordered the ambush.
• Lin Taichu refined Pills while the Lingxiao Sect Disciples reinforced the Kunlun Sect's defenses, and the captives confessed that Zhao Tianba was trying to unite rival sects against it.
• Half a month later, Lin Taichu's Pills helped Daoist Master Xuanqing, Daoist Master Xuantong, and the other injured members recover enough to defend the sect.
• Daoist Master Xuanqing thanked Lin Taichu, and Daoist Master Xuanxu presented him with three Thousand-year Lingzhi and warm jade.
• Lin Taichu accepted the gifts and said he was returning to the Healing Immortal Medical Hall in Qinghe Town.

Lin Taichu returned safely to the Healing Immortal Medical Hall after treating the Kunlun Sect and recounting his clashes with the Southern Fist Sect. The hall prepared to stay alert for retaliation, while its medical work and sect collaborations continued smoothly.

• Daoist Master Xuanqing and Daoist Master Xuanxu escorted Lin Taichu from the Kunlun Sect and told him they had shared the ambushers’ testimonies with nearby righteous sects.
• Lin Taichu traveled without further trouble and arrived in Qinghe Town four days later.
• Wang Xiaohu and Chen Zhiming welcomed Lin Taichu and brought him to Elder Li, Hall Master Zhou, and the other elders.
• Lin Taichu recounted treating the Kunlun Sect, dueling the Southern Fist Sect’s old retainer, surviving Zhao Tianba’s ambush, and receiving help from Lingxiao Sect disciples.
• Elder Li said the medical hall had reinforced its guards and asked the Lingxiao Sect to monitor the Southern Fist Sect.
• Hall Master Zhou reported that the Huichun Hall disciples were learning acupuncture and the Lingxiao Sect was delivering quality medicinal herbs on schedule.