Chapter Summaries

Shen Long visited the Zhou Clan, proved his physical strength by defeating Han Hu in a one-punch contest, and traded a Golden-Eyed Beast Inner Core to Zhou Hualei for valuable treasures. After attending Zhou Yuhua’s Nascent Soul Formation celebration, he left the Zhou Clan to handle other matters.

• Shen Long met Han Hu and won their contest of physical strength, revealing that he had condensed nine hundred drops of Essence Blood.
• Zhou Hualei offered Shen Long a fourth rank Wood Demon Crystal Core and two Millennium Mystic Ice Jade Lotuses for his Golden-Eyed Beast Inner Core, and Shen Long accepted.
• Zhou Yuhua held her Nascent Soul Formation celebration, where Shen Long presented her with Blood Mushroom Pills and a Dharma Treasure.
• Shen Long bade farewell to the Zhou Clan and departed, while Chu Buyu, Ye Hongyao, and the others also left.

Zhou Hualei agreed to send aid to the Shen Clan in exchange for a share of the Turmeric Crystal Mine, while the clans also considered the deaths of Ancestor Tianyue and other cultivators. Shen Long survived a large sandstorm while protecting three Spirit Ants as they advanced to the fourth rank, then joined Lu Tong and Gan Shuo on their way to the Holy Spirit Assembly.

• Shen Yushan agreed to give the Zhou Clan forty percent of the Turmeric Crystal Mine's profits in exchange for reinforcements against the Thousand Puppet Sect.
• Zhou Hualei ordered Zhou Guangyao and Zhou Yuhua to gather elites to aid the Shen Clan and investigate Guangshan and Qingwei's deaths.
• Lu Tong and the Red-Robed Elder killed a Yellow Giant Beast, then fled from an approaching large sandstorm and saw Shen Long remain behind.
• Shen Long used the Nine-Headed Ghost Dove to divert the sandstorm while three Four-Winged Fire Ants advanced to the fourth rank.
• Lu Tong introduced Shen Long to Gan Shuo, explained the Holy Spirit Assembly, and invited Shen Long to travel with them.

Shen Long arrived at Holy Spirit Marketplace, traded for cultivation materials, and reunited with Zen Master Xinkong before joining a gathering of Nascent Soul Cultivators. The Nine-Headed Ghost Dove warned him that Qian Xin carried a dense ghostly aura, and Shen Long arrived at Holy Spirit Garden as the gathering began.

• Shen Long, Lu Tong, and Han Shuo reached Holy Spirit Marketplace, where Shen Long bought materials and encountered Zen Master Xinkong, who had advanced to the Nascent Soul Realm.
• Shen Long traded for ores and two fourth-rank Demon Cores at market stalls, where Lu Tong introduced him to his longtime friend Qian Xin.
• Qian Xin invited Shen Long and Lu Tong to a gathering hosted by Fellow Daoist Xu at Holy Spirit Garden, and Shen Long rented a courtyard afterward.
• The Nine-Headed Ghost Dove sensed an unusually dense ghostly aura around Qian Xin and suggested he frequently dealt with High-Level Ghost Creatures or possessed a ghost-path Spirit Treasure.
• Shen Long rewarded the Nine-Headed Ghost Dove with thousand-year Mysterious Yin Grass, then went to Holy Spirit Garden and joined the gathering of more than twenty Nascent Soul Cultivators.

At the Holy Spirit Dharma Assembly, Shen Long heard reports of deaths in the Western Desert and later learned that a missing cultivator had died in the Heavenly Sand Ruins. Lu Tong invited him to join a five-person expedition to a suspected Blood Blade Devil Lord cave abode, and the group departed after agreeing on how to divide its treasures.

• Shen Long met True Monarch Haoran, Chen Yue, Wu Shan, and other cultivators, who discussed deaths in the Western Desert and the possibility that Blood Blade Devil Lord had returned.
• Shen Long traded Blood Mushroom Pills for an early fourth-rank Amethyst Flying Scorpion Demon Core and Millennial Spirit Herbs, then suspected Qian Xin carried a ghost-path Spirit Treasure.
• Qian Xin invited Lu Tong and Gan Shuo to explore an Ancient Cultivator Cave Abode protected by a Five Elements Spirit-Guarding Restriction, and Lu Tong agreed to consider it.
• A Shadow-Returning Crystal revealed that Wu Yu had died in the Heavenly Sand Ruins after encountering a Late Fourth Rank Earth-Splitting Rhinoceros, while searching for Golden Soul Fruit.
• Lu Tong and Gan Shuo invited Shen Long to join their treasure hunt; Shen Long agreed, and Wu Shan and Qian Xin joined the group.
• Wu Shan said he and Qian Xin would each choose one item after the formation was broken, with the rest divided equally, and the five cultivators left the Marketplace.

Shen Long and his companions entered the Heavenly Sand Ruins to claim Blood Blade Devil Lord’s belongings, but Wu Shan and Qian Xin lured them into an ambush. The trap was exposed, and as Wu Yu killed Gan Shuo and Shen Long’s beasts attacked the Corpse Kings, Qian Xin was badly wounded.

• At Holy Spirit Garden, Xu Qingshu heard that Wu Yu had found Fairy Wu’s remains in the Heavenly Sand Ruins and ordered the sect to monitor the war between the Shen Clan and the Thousand Puppet Sect.
• Shen Long, Wu Shan, Qian Xin, Gan Shuo, and Lu Tong entered the Heavenly Sand Ruins to retrieve Blood Blade Devil Lord’s belongings.
• Near a Cyan Bamboo Forest, Shen Long used his Hundred-Eyed Golden Cicada to expose hidden enemies, and two coffins rose from the ground as a male voice revealed the ambush.
• Qian Xin and Wu Shan tried to persuade Lu Tong to help capture Shen Long, while a Yellow Sand Screen trapped the group and Gan Shuo attempted to escape.
• Wu Yu, empowered by the Ghost-Descending Technique, killed Gan Shuo and swallowed his Nascent Soul, while Lu Tong was also killed.
• Shen Long released the Ice Flood Dragon, Fire Qilin Beast, Iron Tail Scorpion, and Golden-Winged Fire Ant against the two Corpse Kings, and the Ice Flood Dragon wounded Qian Xin.

Shen Long defeated two Corpse Refining creatures in the Heavenly Sand Ruins and discovered they had lured Nascent Soul Cultivators to their deaths. Meanwhile, ghost creatures overran the Thousand Puppet Sect, prompting the Shen and Zhou Clans to prepare to investigate as the danger spread across the Western Desert.

• Shen Long and his spirit beasts killed the Corpse Refining creatures and their Nascent Soul Cultivator allies, while the Nine-Headed Ghost Dove devoured their souls.
• Shen Long searched the green-skirted woman's Essence Soul and learned that the pair had used treasure hunting to lure Nascent Soul Cultivators into ambushes at the Heavenly Sand Ruins.
• Shen Long collected the fallen enemies' treasures and left the ruins with his spirit beasts.
• At Rhino Oasis, Shen Tianhong, Zhou Hualei, Zhou Guangyao, and Shen Yushan discussed the conflict with the Thousand Puppet Sect and the threat of a Holy Spirit Sect attack.
• Shen Yushan reported that ghost creatures and Nascent Soul Realm Ghost Kings had destroyed the Thousand Puppet Sect and were ravaging the Western Desert.
• Shen Tianhong ordered an investigation and called on Shen Yushan to spread the news and recruit High-Level Cultivators to fight the ghosts; one month later, the news had reached more than half the Western Desert.

Shen Long traded for Thunder Spirit Stones and agreed to help Mu Xue and Ye Lin rescue the Chen Clan from an outbreak of Ghost Creatures. When the group arrived, they found the clan’s ancestral land breached, and Shen Long joined the battle.

• Shen Long exchanged twenty drops of Ten Thousand Poison Paste with Mu Xue for three Mid-Grade Lightning Spirit Stones.
• Mu Weiwei traded Shen Long two fourth rank Four-Winged Fire Ant Inner Cores and told him Ghost Creatures were attacking across the Western Desert.
• Mu Xue asked Shen Long to join Ye Lin and three other Nascent Soul Cultivators in rescuing the Chen Clan, offering five Mid-Grade Lightning Spirit Stones, and Shen Long agreed.
• Ye Lin flew the group to the Chen Clan’s ancestral land, where they found its defenses breached and cultivators battling Ghost Creatures.
• Ye Lin attacked the Ghost Creatures, while Shen Long used the Hundred Ghost Scroll to absorb more than ten of them.

Shen Long rescued Chu Buyu, Xu Xin, and Chen Haoming from Nascent Soul Realm Ghost Creatures attacking the Chen Clan. After returning to Green Ape Mountain, the survivors regrouped with Mu Xue.

• Shen Long rescued a Red-Robed Elder from a Giant Skeleton and learned that Chen Haoming and Chu Buyu were being pursued by powerful Ghost Creatures.
• Shen Long arrived in time to save Chu Buyu, helping her defeat the Ghost Shadow and Green Giant Ape.
• Shen Long and Chu Buyu rescued Xu Xin and Chen Haoming by destroying the Fierce Ghost attacking them.
• Shen Long, Chu Buyu, Xu Xin, and Chen Haoming returned to Green Ape Mountain, where Chen Clan disciples were cleaning up the battlefield.
• Chen Haoming briefly left to handle a matter, then returned as Mu Xue arrived and asked whether he was safe.

After ghost creatures attacked the Chen Clan, Chen Haoming explained that they might have escaped from the sealed Ten Thousand Ghost Mound, which contained a passage to the Yin Underworld Realm. As Shen Long prepared to hunt more ghosts, a youth from the Yin Underworld Realm survived his tribulation and entered the Spirit Transmutation Realm, intent on opening a stable passage home.

• Ye Lin and the others returned after fighting the ghost creatures, reporting that one Nascent Soul Realm ghost had escaped and another had been killed.
• Chen Haoming told the cultivators that the ghosts might have come from the Ten Thousand Ghost Mound, whose sealed Spatial Node led to the Yin Underworld Realm.
• Chen Haoming asked Shen Long and the others to remain with the Chen Clan while he contacted other major factions and arranged repairs to the Large Communication Array.
• Shen Long fed captured ghost creatures and two Yin Beads to his Nine-Headed Ghost Dove, which said it was nearing the middle stage.
• A black-shirted youth from the Yin Underworld Realm survived his tribulation, entered the Spirit Transmutation Realm, and flew away with ghost creatures to seek a stable Interface Passage.

Shen Long returned Madam Lin’s belongings to Chu Buyu and asked her to refine his Thunder-Absorbing Bead and Thunder-Guiding Bead. After Huang Ziqi revealed the scale of the Ghost Creature invasion, Shen Long and his companions were assigned to coordinate the hunt from Green Lotus Marketplace.

• Shen Long gave Chu Buyu Madam Lin’s belongings and asked her to refine two Fourth-Order thunder beads into treasures, and she agreed to do so when she had time.
• Huang Ziqi arrived at the Chen Clan and heard that the Thousand Puppet Sect’s headquarters had fallen to Ghost Creatures, including a powerful Nascent Soul Late Stage Ghost King carrying a Spirit Treasure.
• Huang Ziqi ordered the cultivators to eliminate Ghost Creatures scattered across the Western Desert while he attacked Ten Thousand Ghost Mound himself.
• Chen Haoming assigned Shen Long, Chu Buyu, Ye Lin, Mu Xue, and Xu Xin to patrol a region from Green Lotus Marketplace and direct its outposts.
• Huang Ziqi departed for Ten Thousand Ghost Mound, and Mu Xue led Shen Long and the others toward Green Lotus Marketplace.

Huang Ziqi and True Monarch Taihao investigated the ghost-creature outbreak at Ten Thousand Ghost Mound and learned that the destruction of the Dry Earth Great Formation had let the creatures escape. As ghost creatures ravaged the Western Desert, Shen Long and Ye Lin went to aid Xu, only to arrive as a black-skirted ghost woman killed him.

• Huangfu Lou looted and burned Qingyang Peak before fleeing the Western Desert Cultivation World.
• Huang Ziqi met True Monarch Taihao at Ten Thousand Ghost Mound, where Taihao explained that the Barbarian Race had taken the Dry Earth Ruler and broken the formation sealing multiple Spatial Nodes.
• Huang Ziqi and True Monarch Taihao left to seal the entrance and discuss how to contain the threat with other cultivators.
• At Green Lotus Marketplace, Mu Xue received Xu's request for help against a Nascent Soul Late Stage ghost cultivator, and Shen Long and Ye Lin volunteered to respond.
• Shen Long and Ye Lin reached the battlefield and saw Xu flee with a missing leg before the black-skirted woman seized him and drained him into a dried corpse.

Shen Long fought the Black-Skirted Woman with the help of his Fourth-Rank Puppet Beast and Nine-Headed Ghost Dove, killing the powerful ghost cultivator. When Ye Lin, Zhou Hualei, and the others arrived, Shen Long showed them the Mysterious Yin Staff he had taken from her.

• Ye Lin tried to flee the Black-Skirted Woman, but she destroyed his defenses and killed him; his Life-Substitution Bead shattered and restored him far away.
• Shen Long confronted the Black-Skirted Woman, blocked her attacks with his treasures, and was wounded before his cyan dove puppet struck her with thunder.
• The Fourth-Rank Puppet Beast, Cyan Fire Phoenix, and Nine-Headed Ghost Dove overwhelmed the injured Black-Skirted Woman, and the Nine-Headed Ghost Dove tore her apart and swallowed her.
• Shen Long collected three Storage Bracelets and the ghost cultivator's weapons, then dispersed the Yellow Sand Screen.
• Zhou Hualei and five others arrived with Ye Lin, and Shen Long told them he had slaughtered the ghost cultivator and identified her weapon as the Mysterious Yin Staff.

Shen Long destroyed the Mysterious Yin Ghost Mother, earning widespread fame in the Western Desert, while the Sun and Moon Palace and Heaven Ghost Sect agreed to a truce after suspecting a third party had provoked their conflict. After gathering his spoils, Shen Long left the marketplace to return to the East Hua Cultivation World for secluded cultivation.

• Shen Long returned to Green Lotus Marketplace with Zhou Hualei and the others after killing the Mysterious Yin Ghost Mother, and news of his victory spread across the Western Desert.
• Lin Feng, Su Ying, and Su Sheng met Song Lianyue, Liu Yuyao, and Zhao Yang, and both sides denied sending Nascent Soul Cultivators to attack the other's subordinate factions.
• Lin Feng and Zhao Yang agreed to a truce, and the Sun and Moon Palace and Heaven Ghost Sect ordered their subordinate factions to stop fighting.
• Shen Long told Shen Tianhong that a Spirit Treasure had helped him locate the Mysterious Yin Ghost Mother, concealing that the Nine-Headed Ghost Dove had found her.
• Shen Long sorted the Spirit Treasures and other valuables he had taken from the Mysterious Yin Ghost Mother, then left the marketplace for the East Hua Cultivation World.

Shen Long crossed the Hengduan Mountains, using a formation and bait to kill several Fourth-Rank beasts before rescuing Fairy Ice Flood Dragon from a Great Strength Golden-Backed Ape. As they traveled toward the East Hua Cultivation World, a Black Dove Bird survived its tribulation and became a fifth-rank great demon.

• Shen Long used the Gold-Magnetic Formation and Monster Luring Grass to kill two Soul-Devouring Scorpions and two Green Wind Pengs, then collected their Essence Souls and gathered the Golden Soul Fruits.
• The Tree Demon drained nearby vegetation and returned to Shen Long as a distant explosion drew his attention to Fairy Ice Flood Dragon, who was being pursued by a Great Strength Golden-Backed Ape.
• Shen Long defeated the Great Strength Golden-Backed Ape, collected its Essence Soul, and accepted two Jade Flat Peaches from Fairy Ice Flood Dragon.
• Fairy Ice Flood Dragon recovered, and she joined Shen Long aboard the Sea-Crossing Boat to travel toward the East Hua Cultivation World.
• A Black Dove Bird endured forty-five tribulation bolts, including two Three-Colored Divine Lightnings, and reached the fifth rank before flying away.

Shen Long returned to the Spirit Control Sect, reported his experiences, and agreed to refine Heavenly Ape Pills for Yuan Rui. He reunited with his Golden Core disciple Su Changfeng and began refining pills in seclusion.

• Chen Xiao told Yuan Rui that Junior Brother Xu had died during the Inner Demon Tribulation, while Junior Brother Wu had reached the Nascent Soul Realm, and that the sect had found no Soul-Calming Fruit.
• Shen Long returned to the sect and gave Yuan Rui fourth rank Monster Ape Essence Blood; Yuan Rui asked him to refine Heavenly Ape Pills using the gathered materials and Flood Dragon Essence Blood.
• Yuan Rui told Shen Long that the Yin Corpse Sect had destroyed the Hundred Ghosts Sect, and Shen Long described his travels and his victory over the Mysterious Yin Ghost Mother.
• Shen Long summoned Su Changfeng, inspected his High-Grade Medicinal Pills, and gave him an Alchemy Furnace, a Thunder-Guiding Bead, and a Third Rank Puppet Beast.
• Shen Long invited Su Changfeng to stay at Golden Roc Garden for alchemy guidance, then entered the Alchemy Room and began refining pills.

After twenty years, Shen Long reunited with Master Ice Silkworm, who offered to refine treasures for him, while Shen Long supplied resources to help Han Yuwei attempt the Nascent Soul Realm. Later, Shen Long refused to intervene when Tyrant Blade Villa and Purple Firmament Gate asked him to protect them from Mystic Spirit Gate, leaving their plea unanswered.

• Shen Long received Lin Yutong and Master Ice Silkworm after learning they had returned, and Han Yuwei gave him valuable cultivation materials.
• Master Ice Silkworm offered to upgrade Shen Long’s Dragon-Slaying Saber, but Shen Long said Fairy Chu Buyu was already helping with it and asked Master Ice Silkworm to refine a soul-attacking Spirit Treasure instead.
• Shen Long gave Master Ice Silkworm Fourth-Order Pills, Soul-Calming Incense, and Nascent Soul Spirit Items for Han Yuwei’s breakthrough attempt.
• Shen Long found that the Nine-Headed Ghost Dove, Golden-Winged Wind Peng, and Iron Tail Scorpion had all advanced to fourth rank middle stage, then fed the Iron Tail Scorpion a Soul-Devouring Scorpion corpse.
• Master Jinqian and Lu Han asked Shen Long to protect Tyrant Blade Villa and Purple Firmament Gate from Mystic Spirit Gate, admitting their Nascent Soul Cultivators had died and their disciples had injured the Young Sect Master’s Dao companion.
• Shen Long refused to intervene, telling Master Jinqian and Lu Han to leave.

Master Jinqian and Lu Han offered to merge Tyrant Blade Villa and Purple Firmament Gate into the Spirit Control Sect, and Shen Long accepted while leaving the arrangements to Chen Xiao. After receiving Yin-Yang Beads from Chu Buyu, Shen Long learned of the Ten Thousand Swords Assembly and agreed to attend.

• Master Jinqian and Lu Han offered their sects and their wealth to the Spirit Control Sect in exchange for protection and a future for their disciples.
• Shen Long accepted the merger, warned the two leaders not to undermine the sect, and assigned Chen Xiao to manage the arrangements.
• Chu Buyu delivered the Yin-Yang Beads and told Shen Long that the Ten Thousand Swords Sect was preparing an assembly for Nascent Soul Cultivators.
• Shen Long asked Chu Buyu about the fighting between Sun and Moon Palace and Heaven Ghost Sect, and she said her side was investigating who had stirred up the conflict.
• A messenger from the Ten Thousand Swords Sect delivered an Invitation, and Shen Long agreed to attend the Ten Thousand Swords Assembly.

Shen Long arrived at Ten Thousand Swords Marketplace for the Ten Thousand Swords Assembly and worked to settle tensions and establish trade between the Spirit Control Sect and Mystic Spirit Gate. The chapter ended with Shen Long and Wei Liang agreeing to exchange goods and with Shen Long taking on Wei Liang’s Golden Soul Pill refinement.

• Wu Xiao ordered the Barbarian Race to stop sending cultivators to search for Heaven-Piercing Spirit Treasures and strengthen its defenses after thirty Nascent Soul Cultivators were lost.
• Shen Long, Master Ice Silkworm, and True Monarch Xuanyang reached Ten Thousand Swords Marketplace and met Zhou Hualei and his companions before heading to Spirit Control Garden.
• True Man Red Flood Dragon gave Shen Long Flood Dragon Essence Blood and alchemy materials, then told him that cultivators across several regions knew he had slain the Mysterious Yin Ghost Mother.
• Shen Long invited Wei Liang to resolve conflicts involving Tyrant Blade Villa, Purple Firmament Gate, and the Dao companion of Wei Liang’s descendant; Wei Liang accepted the apology and declined compensation.
• Wei Liang asked Shen Long to refine a batch of Golden Soul Pills, and Shen Long proposed that the Spirit Control Sect and Mystic Spirit Gate trade spirit herbs for Spirit Beasts and Spirit Insects.

Shen Long was invited to a gathering at the Mysterious Ice Garden, where he met Heavenly Mystery Rogue and other Nascent Soul cultivators. The chapter also revealed that the Ten Thousand Swords Sect was investigating Lin Yu’s death and that Shen Long’s reputation for strength had spread widely.

• True Man Red Flood Dragon invited Shen Long to Lin Qian’s gathering, where Heavenly Mystery Rogue was expected to attend.
• Lin Qian, Ye Hongyao, and Su Yuman discussed Shen Long’s rapid rise and Ye Hongyao’s interest in him.
• Lin Qing told Lu Qingshan that Lin Yu had died in the North Sea Cultivation World, and Lu Qingshan reasoned that her killer was likely a powerful Nascent Soul cultivator or part of a group.
• Lu Qingshan and Lin Qing discussed Shen Long’s defeat of the Mysterious Yin Ghost Mother and agreed that befriending him would be wise.
• Shen Long, Master Ice Silkworm, and True Man Red Flood Dragon arrived at the Mysterious Ice Garden, where Shen Long met Heavenly Mystery Rogue.

At the Ten Thousand Swords Assembly, Shen Long discussed fate and cultivation with the Nascent Soul cultivators before True Monarch Li Huo arrived and challenged him to a wagered spar. Chen Xin entered the contest first, and his fight with Li Huo was still underway when the chapter ended.

• Shen Long told Heavenly Mystery Rogue and the others that fate shaped some outcomes, but personal effort and Dao heart remained important.
• Shen Long said the treasure that could track the Mysterious Yin Ghost Mother had been destroyed, and Lin Qian learned that True Monarch Li Huo had arrived.
• True Monarch Li Huo challenged Shen Long to spar, offering a Fourth-Order Spirit Flame against ten bottles of Fourth-Order Pills; Chen Xin also wagered a Heaven Soul Ghost Lotus.
• The cultivators traveled to a plain, where Chen Xin fought Li Huo with Golden Poisonous Mist, Golden Sand, and other attacks against Li Huo's Red Flying Sword.
• Li Huo's sword broke apart Chen Xin's Golden Giant Blade, but Chen Xin's Golden Mist then launched Golden Arrows and a Golden Dragon Claw at him.