Chapter Summaries

Chen Changsheng questioned the Little White Wolf about missing Great Qian cultivators, then subdued it with restrictions and headed to Night Moon Kingdom’s Son-in-law Recruitment Assembly. At the assembly, the Wolf King opened the contest for Princess Wanyan Yue’s hand, and a new challenger stepped forward just as the trials were about to begin.

• Chen Changsheng questioned the Little White Wolf about the Longevity Fairy and Master Yixiu, while the wolf suspected him of probing for information and guessed he was Song Yuanshan.
• The Little White Wolf revealed that the Fox Clan had turned Supreme Clarity Temple Master Nascent Soul Immortal’s corpse into a puppet and offered to return it if Chen Changsheng released it.
• Chen Changsheng refused to release the wolf, placed eighty-seven restrictions on it, and silenced it before heading to the assembly.
• The Wolf King announced that he would choose a husband for Princess Wanyan Yue, and Lin Hu and Hu Zhan stepped forward as leading contenders.
• Several other demons joined the contest, then an unidentified figure sprang from the crowd and declared that he wanted to participate.

Chen Changsheng joined the Demon Race’s Son-in-law Recruitment Assembly and was sent to stay at Hu Mansion, where the Wolf King suspected he was linked to Princess Yue’er’s disappearance. At Hu Mansion, Chen Changsheng reunited with Hu Meiniang, whom he had met thirty years earlier.

• Chen Changsheng asked to enter the assembly, and the Wolf King allowed him to participate in the next day’s test.
• The Wolf King arranged for Chen Changsheng to stay at Hu Mansion, where Hu Zhan welcomed him and Lin Hu insulted him before Elder Turtle stopped their confrontation.
• The Wolf King and Elder Turtle discussed whether Chen Changsheng was connected to Yue’er’s disappearance and ordered an investigation into his background.
• Hu Meiniang visited Chen Changsheng at Hu Mansion and reminded him that they had met thirty years earlier.

Hu Meiniang warned Chen Changsheng that the Son-in-law Recruitment Assembly was a trap set in the Night Moon Kingdom’s Forbidden Ground, where he would need a crucial item or face certain death. Chen decided to proceed with Little White, and Hu Zhan escorted them toward the trial.

• Hu Meiniang urged Chen Changsheng to leave the Night Moon Kingdom and revealed that the assembly would take place in the Forbidden Ground, directing him to seek two humans who had been pursued there five years earlier.
• Chen Changsheng suspected those two humans were the Longevity Fairy and Master Yixiu, while Little White refused to disclose the kingdom’s secrets and accused Hu Meiniang of betraying the Demon Race.
• Chen Changsheng reasoned that Hu Meiniang had been driven out by the Fox Clan and suspected she had returned to seek vengeance; he then tied Little White to the bedside and silenced her so he could sleep.
• At dawn, Chen Changsheng set out with Little White, and Hu Zhan confirmed that pets and all methods were allowed in the trial.

Chen Changsheng entered the Night Moon Kingdom’s Forbidden Ground with Hu Zhan and reached a Bronze Ancient Hall, while the Wolf King plotted to use a dangerous power sealed beneath the ground. The chapter ended with Lin Hu threatening Chen Changsheng as he studied the hall’s inscriptions.

• Hu Zhan brought Chen Changsheng to the Forbidden Ground, where Chen Changsheng recognized the miasma and offered him an antidote pill.
• The Wolf King tried to persuade Yixiu to join him, but Yixiu continued holding down the last opening in the seal.
• The Wolf King learned that Elder Turtle had found no record of Chen Changsheng in the Great Qian Dynasty and vowed to wait until the Blood Sacrifice was complete.
• Chen Changsheng and Hu Zhan encountered Lin Hu at the Bronze Ancient Hall, where Lin Hu threatened to kill Chen Changsheng.
• Chen Changsheng ignored Lin Hu’s threat and returned to examining the hall’s patterns and inscriptions.

Chen Changsheng compared the patterns on the Bronze Ancient Hall in the Forbidden Ground with those from the Boundless Secret Realm and discovered they formed a picture rather than writing. The picture revealed part of a story, whose meaning Chen Changsheng and the others began to examine.

• Lin Hu flew into a rage at Chen Changsheng, but Hu Zhan's Nascent Soul puppet stopped him and Hu Zhan reminded him not to jeopardize their objective.
• Chen Changsheng told Hu Zhan that a similar Bronze Ancient Hall stood in the Boundless Secret Realm and suggested comparing the two halls' patterns.
• Chen Changsheng spent three hours matching the patterns and explained that they were pictures designed to convey information across time, not writing.
• Chen Changsheng combined rubbings from both halls into a broken picture, and he, Hu Zhan, and Lin Hu began studying the story it depicted.

Chen Changsheng explained that Night Moon Kingdom’s sudden rise was tied to the sealed power of Calamity and warned that those who damaged the Bronze Ancient Hall would target the investigators. The Wolf King arrived, forced Hu Zhan and Lin Hu to submit, then tried to use a Blood Pool to break through to Spirit Transformation, but Elder Turtle betrayed him.

• Chen Changsheng pieced together the Bronze Ancient Hall’s history and suspected a Great Qian Dynasty traitor had brought the secret of Calamity to Night Moon Kingdom.
• The Wolf King and Elder Turtle appeared, and the Wolf King revealed that the Fox Clan and Tiger Clan elders had tried to force him to disclose the secret before he killed them.
• The Wolf King offered Hu Zhan and Lin Hu their lives and a fortuitous opportunity if they submitted, and they accepted.
• The Wolf King took Chen Changsheng to a Blood Pool, sacrificed two Spirit Transformation experts, and swallowed the pill it produced.
• The Wolf King lamented that Yue'er’s blood was needed to reach Spirit Transformation, and Elder Turtle stabbed him and declared that eating him would provide another way to break through.

Chen Changsheng exposed Master Yuhua as the traitor who had arranged Supreme Clarity Temple’s destruction and spent five hundred years seeking power in Night Moon Kingdom. Master Yuhua admitted his scheme and explained why he had killed the temple’s members, leaving Chen Changsheng confronting his former guide.

• Elder Turtle disabled the Wolf King, tore out his heart and cultivation, then attacked Hu Zhan and Lin Hu.
• Chen Changsheng recognized Elder Turtle as Master Yuhua, who revealed his true appearance and asked how Chen had discovered his identity.
• Chen Changsheng explained that clues about the demon woman, his concealed identity, and the temple’s destruction led him to suspect a traitor within Supreme Clarity Temple.
• Chen Changsheng connected Master Yuhua to the Bronze Ancient Hall and an old travel journal describing Night Moon Kingdom’s Forbidden Ground, exposing his five-hundred-year plan.
• Master Yuhua admitted that he had killed Supreme Clarity Temple’s members after they opposed and exposed his scheme, and said Near Water had survived because he had been absent.
• Master Yuhua asked how Chen Changsheng knew the power required a Blood Sacrifice, and Chen revealed that he had hidden patterns in the Boundless Secret Realm.

Chen Changsheng refused Master Yuhua’s offer to join forces and used Hundred Defeats Immortal and Yixiu to escape the Forbidden Ground. They fled a thousand li, but Chen Changsheng feared Master Yuhua would catch up, so Yixiu burned more of his Lifespan to carry them farther away.

• Chen Changsheng rejected Master Yuhua’s invitation, saying he had come to bring his master’s and senior brothers’ bodies home.
• Master Yuhua produced the corpses, and Chen Changsheng placed his companions, the Wolf King, Hu Zhan, and Lin Hu in eleven coffins.
• Chen Changsheng summoned Hundred Defeats Immortal, who punched Master Yuhua and brought the Bronze Ancient Hall down over the Blood Pool.
• The falling hall forced Master Yixiu out of the cave where he had been suppressing the source of Calamity, and Chen Changsheng called on him to escape.
• Yixiu used a Heavenly Buddha Temple Secret Technique to take Chen Changsheng a thousand li away, then used it again when Chen Changsheng warned that Master Yuhua might catch them.

Chen Changsheng and Yixiu escaped Master Yuhua by fleeing thirty thousand li, then Yixiu revealed that Li Niansheng had gone missing after a teleportation array scattered them during their escape from the Night Moon Kingdom's Forbidden Ground. The chapter leaves Chen Changsheng without knowing where the array sent her or whether she survived.

• Yixiu used repeated Secret Techniques to help Chen Changsheng escape, and Chen Changsheng used Blood Escape Techniques before they both collapsed.
• Master Yuhua searched for Chen Changsheng and Yixiu but could not detect them beyond ten thousand li, then returned to the Night Moon Kingdom.
• Chen Changsheng kept fleeing with Yixiu until they were thirty thousand li from the Night Moon Kingdom and considered themselves safe.
• Chen Changsheng asked Yixiu where Li Niansheng was, and Yixiu said she had gone missing.
• Yixiu explained that he and Li Niansheng were discovered sealing the Calamity power, and a damaged Ancient Teleportation Array in the Bronze Ancient Hall separated him from the others during transmission.

After Master Yuhua seized control of the Night Moon Kingdom, Chen Changsheng prepared to part ways with Wanyan Yue and Yixiu as they chose to return to confront the danger. He gave Yixiu coffins and burial instructions for the dead, then sent them off with a warning that the stone coffin of Hundred Defeats Immortal might hinder Master Yuhua.

• Yixiu reassured Chen Changsheng that Nian Sheng could survive on her own, then questioned him about his cultivation and age; Chen Changsheng instead restored Wanyan Yue to human form.
• Wanyan Yue cried over her father's death, thanked Chen Changsheng for collecting his body, and learned from Yixiu that Master Yuhua might take the corpse for its bloodline.
• Chen Changsheng said he planned to return to selling coffins and stay away from the Great Qian Dynasty; Wanyan Yue decided to return to the Night Moon Kingdom, while Yixiu planned to flee with Heavenly Buddha Temple.
• Chen Changsheng gave Yixiu eight coffins and a map with burial sites, and joked that he had even prepared a coffin and plot for Yixiu.
• Chen Changsheng explained how Hundred Defeats Immortal's stone coffin had helped against Master Yuhua, then urged Wanyan Yue and Yixiu to leave and face their chosen paths.

After leaving Yixiu and Wanyan Yue, Chen Changsheng explored the Xuanwu Kingdom and built a busy funeral, medical, and pill-making business in Bitter Sea Town. The chapter ended with him treating an injured fighter while the town’s residents remained eager to compete and fight.

• Yixiu and Wanyan Yue left Chen Changsheng, who wondered what the Xuanwu Kingdom had to offer.
• Da Zhuang asked Chen Changsheng to restore his dead younger brother Er Zhuang’s body, and Chen bought Da Zhuang’s herbs for one hundred Spirit Stones to cover the funeral service.
• Chen Changsheng painstakingly reassembled Er Zhuang’s corpse, placed it in a coffin, and told Da Zhuang to bury him.
• Chen Changsheng treated a burly man’s broken hand and explained how townspeople had pushed him into expanding from coffin sales into medical treatment and pill refining.
• The injured man boasted that he would win future fights after advancing to Body Refinement Fourth Layer, while Chen Changsheng accepted that the Xuanwu Kingdom’s people would not give up competing.

Chen Changsheng refused Zuo Xinghe’s gifts and invitation to serve Xuanwu Kingdom, but agreed to travel to the Imperial Capital after hearing clues about a Bronze Ancient Hall. Before leaving Bitter Sea Town, he packed his belongings and a coffin he had prepared for Master Yuhua, while worrying that Third Senior Brother’s remaining lifespan was nearly over.

• Zuo Xinghe offered Chen Changsheng rare herbs and the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique to persuade him to join Xuanwu Kingdom, but Chen Changsheng refused to become involved in royal disputes.
• Zuo Xinghe revealed that his ten-year investigation had uncovered clues to a Bronze Ancient Hall connected to the Imperial Capital, and Chen Changsheng agreed to accompany him.
• Chen Changsheng reflected that nearly forty-nine years had passed since he left Supreme Clarity Temple and worried that Third Senior Brother might soon die.
• Chen Changsheng stored his belongings and the coffin he had prepared for Master Yuhua in the System Space, then left his Coffin Shop.

Chen Changsheng traveled with Zuo Xinghe to Chang'an and explained that his broad expertise came from making use of time others wasted. Zuo Xinghe revealed that his father had less than a year to live and was searching for a way to live another life, while Chen Changsheng offered a fifty-to-sixty percent chance of finding such a place but warned that success would be uncertain.

• Zuo Xinghe praised Chen Changsheng and tried to draw him into conversation during their carriage ride to Chang'an.
• Chen Changsheng explained that he had mastered many disciplines by making use of time others wasted, while Zuo Xinghe had spent much of his years on cultivation, power, romance, and pleasure.
• Zuo Xinghe offered to make Chen Changsheng a state luminary, but Chen Changsheng declined and asked how long Emperor Zuo had to live.
• Zuo Xinghe said Emperor Zuo had less than a year left and had promised the throne to whoever found a Dragon Lair.
• Chen Changsheng deduced that Emperor Zuo was seeking a place to live another life, then said he had a fifty-to-sixty percent chance of finding it.
• Chen Changsheng warned Zuo Xinghe that finding the place would not guarantee success and advised him to persuade Emperor Zuo to abandon the plan.

Chen Changsheng accompanied Zuo Xinghe to the Xuanwu Emperor’s court, where the nine Princes competed to present dragon lairs that might extend their father’s life. After dismissing all eight proposed sites, Chen Changsheng claimed only one place had a chance and prepared to reveal it.

• At the palace banquet, Chen Changsheng urged Zuo Xinghe to show grief over the Xuanwu Emperor’s impending death, and Zuo Xinghe dramatically fell to his knees and wept.
• The Xuanwu Emperor praised Zuo Xinghe’s filial display and rewarded Chen Changsheng with another fruit platter.
• The Xuanwu Emperor announced that the Prince who found a true land of Immortal Destiny would inherit the throne, and eight Princes presented their dragon lairs through their masters.
• When the Second Prince criticized Chen Changsheng, Chen Changsheng requested a detailed map and marked the locations of all eight dragon lairs.
• Chen Changsheng called all eight sites trash, said only one place had a chance of extending the Emperor’s life, and revealed that he had taught himself Dragon Seeking and Acupuncture Point Location while working as a coffin seller.

Chen Changsheng convinced Emperor Zuo that the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Ground was the only place with a chance of helping him live another lifetime in reverse. Emperor Zuo appointed Chen Changsheng National Teacher, but Chen protested that he had agreed with Zuo Xinghe not to take a position in the Xuanwu Kingdom.

• The Princes accused Zuo Xinghe of bringing a coffin seller to sabotage Emperor Zuo's search for a Dragon Lair, and Chen Changsheng introduced himself to the Emperor.
• Chen Changsheng dismissed the eight feng shui masters' proposed Dragon Lairs as lies and pointed to the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Ground on the map.
• When the experts objected that the forbidden ground was a deathtrap, Chen Changsheng argued that only seeking life amid death could offer Emperor Zuo a chance to live another lifetime in reverse.
• Emperor Zuo dismissed the court and appointed Chen Changsheng National Teacher, granting him freedom to travel throughout the Xuanwu Kingdom.
• Chen Changsheng called after Emperor Zuo, protesting that he and Zuo Xinghe had agreed he would hold no position in the kingdom.

Chen Changsheng told Zuo Xinghe that the emperor had long planned to seek another life in the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Ground and had engineered the search to bring Chen to Chang'an. The emperor then granted Chen unrestricted access to Xuanwu Pavilion, where Chen uncovered signs that the emperor had also arranged the Bronze Ancient Hall investigation.

• Chen Changsheng explained that the emperor's late-in-life children and the search for the Dragon Lair were part of a plan prepared centuries in advance.
• Zuo Xinghe asked Chen Changsheng to persuade the emperor to avoid the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Ground, but Chen said Zuo should speak to his father.
• An imperial messenger ordered Zuo Xinghe to show Chen Changsheng around the palace and allow him to access anything he wanted.
• Chen Changsheng entered Xuanwu Pavilion and examined the Xuanwu Kingdom History Book, finding its records about the Bronze Ancient Hall.
• Chen Changsheng told Zuo Xinghe that the emperor had likely planted the Bronze Ancient Hall clue and arranged for Chen to come to Chang'an.

Chen Changsheng negotiated with Emperor Zuo to enter the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Ground, offering his knowledge in exchange for help killing his grandmaster. Emperor Zuo agreed to leave the next day, and Chen Changsheng prepared to fulfill his promise to bury him.

• Chen Changsheng spent a month reading Xuanwu Kingdom's records while accepting its cultivation resources and withholding information about the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Ground.
• Emperor Zuo confronted Chen Changsheng, who explained that his knowledge could improve their chances of entering the forbidden ground and demanded help killing someone.
• Chen Changsheng told Emperor Zuo the story of Master Yuhua and revealed that he wanted to honor his promise to bury his grandmaster.
• Chen Changsheng explained that a Bronze Ancient Hall in the forbidden ground might help him find an old friend who had disappeared inside one.
• Emperor Zuo agreed to depart for the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Ground the next day and claimed that even those beyond Spirit Transformation would fear it, but he did not.
• Chen Changsheng watched Emperor Zuo vanish and said he was finally going to fulfill his promise to his grandmaster after fifty years.

Chen Changsheng traveled toward the occupied Great Qian Dynasty aboard a warship while recalling his old friends. At Supreme Clarity Temple, the dying Li Jinshui waited for Chen Changsheng to return, and Chen Changsheng learned that the Great Qian Dynasty had fallen to Night Moon Kingdom.

• Chen Changsheng told Zuo Xinghe that he remembered old friends and promised to bury him someday.
• At Supreme Clarity Temple, Li Jinshui visited the graves of his master and fellow disciples, and Song Yuanshan asked whether Chen Changsheng would return.
• Li Jinshui told Song Yuanshan that Chen Changsheng would come back to bury him and urged him to stop seeking the truth about Night Moon Kingdom's Forbidden Ground.
• Li Jinshui recalled that Master Yixiu had revealed their grandmaster killed their master and fellow disciples, and Li Jinshui and Yixiu had agreed to keep the secret.
• After a month aboard the warship, Chen Changsheng learned that Night Moon Kingdom had occupied the Great Qian Dynasty and that the Undertaker had killed its Demon King.
• Zuo Xinghe called the Undertaker a dangerous, unpredictable madman, and Chen Changsheng revealed that the Undertaker was his own nickname.

Chen Changsheng left Zuo Xinghe and Emperor Zuo after explaining how legends obscure the truth, while Emperor Zuo urged his son to use Chen Changsheng and reflected on his pursuit of immortality. Chen Changsheng then reached Supreme Clarity Temple and reunited with the dying Li Jinshui.

• Chen Changsheng told Zuo Xinghe that he was the Undertaker because he sold coffins and handled funerals, then left the warship to attend to other matters.
• Emperor Zuo told Zuo Xinghe that he had watched Chen Changsheng for ten years and believed Chen Changsheng could help him rule Xuanwu Kingdom.
• Emperor Zuo explained that pursuing immortality despite understanding death took courage, and Zuo Xinghe admitted he lacked that courage.
• Emperor Zuo urged Zuo Xinghe to make good use of Chen Changsheng, then left his son to decide how to do so.
• At Supreme Clarity Temple, Chen Changsheng found Li Jinshui blind and close to death, and Li Jinshui recognized him as his Little Junior Brother.
• Chen Changsheng helped Li Jinshui sit up and said he needed to change him into his burial clothes before his body grew cold.

Chen Changsheng buried Li Jinshui beside Nascent Soul Immortal before leaving Supreme Clarity Temple. Emperor Zuo had devastated Night Moon Kingdom and waited for Chen Changsheng to arrive, then attacked the forbidden ground where Chen Changsheng’s Grandmaster was trapped.

• Li Jinshui rejected Chen Changsheng’s attempt to change his clothes, shared a final conversation with him, and died after praising the coffin Chen Changsheng had prepared.
• Chen Changsheng buried Li Jinshui in the grave he had dug, erected an Undertaker gravestone, and poured Hundred Flowers Wine before Li Jinshui’s and Nascent Soul Immortal’s graves.
• Emperor Zuo’s forces defeated Night Moon Kingdom, seized the Boundless Secret Realm, and surrounded the forbidden ground where Master Yuhua remained.
• Zuo Xinghe told Emperor Zuo that Heavenly Buddha Temple’s people wanted an audience, and Emperor Zuo ordered them to wait while he awaited Chen Changsheng.
• Chen Changsheng arrived and chose to meet his old acquaintance while Emperor Zuo dealt with the forbidden ground and left his Grandmaster alive for the moment.
• Emperor Zuo struck the forbidden ground with a colossal fist, smashing the surrounding mountains and rivers.