Chapter Summaries

Snake Mask carried the child bell responsible for absorbing Calamity Qi as the White Bone Sect’s surviving members faced growing danger. After recovering from his exertions, Jiang Wang returned to Jia City to handle the aftermath of the plague and took Dugu Xiao with him.

• Snake Mask reflected that eight of the Twelve Faceless Ones had died and feared she would be next as she traveled through war-torn Yang State.
• Snake Mask carried the child bell, one half of the Mother-Child Bell whose mother bell had spread the Black Plague across Yang State.
• Jiang Wang woke after a long sleep, having missed the Blessed Land challenge while recovering from his efforts to save Green Sheep Town and kill Mo Munan.
• Dugu Xiao told Jiang Wang that Jia City was under control for now and praised him for killing Mo Munan.
• Jiang Wang asked Dugu Xiao to come with him into town to deal with what remained.

Xiang Qian struggled to suppress painful memories by working through the Black Plague crisis in Green Sheep Town. After meeting a dying boy whose parents were missing, he tried to find eggs for the child’s seventh birthday and became angry at the town’s shortages.

• Xiang Qian woke from a dream about his master and went out to patrol Green Sheep Town, using work to avoid his memories.
• He brought two newly discovered Black Plague patients to West Town District, where 247 patients were being treated and supplies were distributed.
• A frail boy told Xiang Qian it was his seventh birthday and wished for the two eggs his mother usually gave him.
• Xiang Qian promised to get the boy eggs, but found that Green Sheep Town had no eggs because supplies were scarce.
• Xiang Qian confronted Xiao Xiao about the shortages, and Xiao Xiao explained that the Black Plague had swept across Yang State and supplies could not be bought even with money.

Xiang Qian tried to get two eggs for a dying child but was refused by the Four Seas Merchant Alliance guards. He robbed their warehouse and left with the eggs, while the guards decided to report the incident as a major loss.

• Xiang Qian asked Xiao Xiao where he could find two eggs, and she directed him to the Four Seas Merchant Alliance warehouse.
• Xiang Qian asked the warehouse guards for two eggs, but the captain demanded payment or official paperwork and refused to help immediately.
• Xiang Qian kicked open the warehouse doors and shaved the guard captain's head with a flash of cold light.
• Xiang Qian took two eggs from the warehouse and headed west through town.
• The guard captain told the others to report the robbery to the Alliance, claiming they had lost valuable supplies and nearly suffered a deadly attack.

Xiang Qian brought eggs to a sick boy in Green Sheep Town, while Jiang Wang settled the Four Seas Merchant Alliance’s complaint over Xiang Qian’s theft. Jiang Wang paid compensation and secured the steward’s promise to supply the town’s people with necessities.

• Xiang Qian gave a sick boy two eggs, and the boy ate one and asked him to give the other to his mother.
• Xiang Qian left to help the children of Green Sheep Town and ate the egg the boy had saved for his mother.
• Jiang Wang summoned Xiang Qian to meet the Four Seas Merchant Alliance’s steward, who accused Xiang Qian of robbing its warehouse.
• Jiang Wang agreed to compensate the Alliance with two hundred Dao Essence Stones for the stolen goods and the trouble caused.
• Jiang Wang asked the steward to keep Green Sheep Town supplied with medicine, meat, vegetables, and other necessities, and the steward promised to do so.

Jiang Wang explained why Yang Court was unlikely to punish him for killing Mo Munan and why he spared Mo Zichu so he could lead Jia City's relief efforts while protecting the Mo Family's bloodline. After outmaneuvering the Four Seas Merchant Alliance, Jiang Wang spoke about building a name that commanded respect, while Chongxuan Sheng hinted at a secret plan.

• Jiang Wang reasoned that Yang Court was unlikely to hold him accountable because his actions exposed the Black Plague and gave the court a chance to take control of Jia City.
• Jiang Wang said he had spared Mo Zichu because he could organize relief efforts and might use the opportunity to preserve the Mo Family's bloodline.
• Jiang Wang paid Manager Qian two hundred Dao Essence Stones to end the dispute and told the Town Hall that their own name should one day carry weight.
• Manager Qian rebuked the bald-headed guard captain for risking the Alliance's larger disaster-relief profits, and the captain decided to behave himself.
• In the Great Void Illusion Realm, Chongxuan Sheng discussed the Four Seas Merchant Alliance with Jiang Wang and refused to reveal his plan because of his military orders.

Jiang Wang set out to uncover the White Bone Sect’s purpose in spreading the Black Plague and sought help from the Rizhao Prefecture Governor. The governor dismissed his warning and refused to take responsibility, leaving Jiang Wang without official support.

• Jiang Wang considered why the White Bone Sect had spread the Black Plague and resolved to stop its next agent in Yang State.
• Jiang Wang left Green Sheep Town and went alone to the Rizhao Prefecture Governor’s residence.
• The Rizhao Prefecture Governor mistook Jiang Wang for a Chongxuan Family representative and asked how much aid the family would provide.
• Jiang Wang warned that the White Bone Sect had deliberately caused the Black Plague and threatened Rizhao Prefecture.
• The Rizhao Prefecture Governor dismissed the warning, claimed the matter was outside his responsibility, and signaled for Jiang Wang to leave.

Jiang Wang failed to persuade the Prefecture Governor of Rizhao Prefecture to confront the Black Plague, then decided to investigate its worst-affected areas himself. In Yue City’s prison, head jailer Wu Yinquan discovered that the wealthy scholar he had thrown into the Earth-Grade Cell was sleeping peacefully among the notorious prisoners.

• The Prefecture Governor of Rizhao Prefecture dismissed Jiang Wang after learning he came from the Zhuang Kingdom, and Jiang Wang left in anger without securing the governor’s help.
• Jiang Wang chose not to abandon the fight against the White Bone Sect and decided to travel to places most afflicted by the Black Plague, including Yue City.
• Wu Yinquan had a wealthy scholar moved from a private cell into the Earth-Grade Cell after the man ignored his hints about paying for better treatment.
• Wu Yinquan arrived late the next day and found the Earth-Grade Cell unusually quiet, with the wealthy scholar asleep in its coolest bed.

Wu Yinquan learned that the prisoner Qin Nianmin was Old Master Qin’s son and saw the inmates treat him with unusual kindness. After Qin Nianmin broke down at the news of his father’s death, Wu and Old Ding went to Zeren Medical Hall and found it sealed off because of a contagious disease.

• Old Ding brought food and wine for Qin Nianmin, prompting Wu Yinquan to learn that he headed Zeren Medical Hall and was Old Master Qin’s son.
• The prisoners gently woke Qin Nianmin and urged him to eat, while he said he had to live and refused to explain why he had been imprisoned.
• Wu Yinquan offered to carry a message to Old Master Qin, and Qin Nianmin set down the tray and wept after hearing of his father’s death.
• Wu Yinquan and Old Ding went to Zeren Medical Hall and found the street deserted, covered in funeral flowers, with a notice banning memorial visits because of a contagious disease.

Wu Yinquan understood the meaning of a glorious funeral as people honored Old Master Qin, while Li Yang pursued Qin Nianmin on the Yue City Lord’s orders. As Li Yang tried to silence Qin, a sheathed sword intervened, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Wu Yinquan wept as funeral flowers honored Old Master Qin and realized how deeply the people carried him in their hearts.
• Li Yang recalled how Qin Nianmin escaped prison during a riot and how ordinary people across Yue City hid his trail.
• Li Yang and two extraordinary constables caught up with Qin Nianmin near the edge of Yue City.
• Qin Nianmin accused Yue City’s officials of failing to act against the Black Plague and demanded that someone take responsibility.
• Li Yang lunged to seize Qin Nianmin, but a sheathed long sword blocked him as an unknown voice objected to the accusation of spreading lies.

Jiang Wang protected Qin Nianmin from Yue City’s officials and helped him escape so he could appeal to the Emperor. After the officials retreated, a mysterious woman appeared and asked about Zhang Linchuan.

• Jiang Wang confronted Li Yang and asked Qin Nianmin what crime he had committed.
• Qin Nianmin said he planned to go to the capital and tell the Emperor about the people’s suffering.
• Li Yang attacked Jiang Wang, but Jiang Wang’s sword forced him back and Jiang Wang told Qin Nianmin to flee without looking back.
• Jiang Wang used the name Zhang Linchuan and warned Li Yang not to pursue Qin Nianmin, so Li Yang and the two constables withdrew.
• A cloaked woman approached Li Yang with a bell on a blue cord and asked whether he had been discussing Zhang Linchuan.

After parting from Qin Nianmin, Jiang Wang encountered the Snake-Bone Masked One and pursued her across much of Yang State. Unable to shake him, she finally stopped to recover and prepare to fight.

• Jiang Wang left Qin Nianmin to continue his journey alone and accepted that he would have to hunt the White Bone Sect’s cultivators without the Yue City Lord’s Mansion.
• The Snake-Bone Masked One mistook Jiang Wang for an envoy, then realized he had killed the Pig Mask and fled.
• Jiang Wang recognized her as one of the White Bone Sect’s Twelve White Bone Masked Ones and used Recollection to track her aura.
• Jiang Wang pursued the Snake-Bone Masked One across Yue, Jia, and Ning Cities, then through Rizhao and into Chiwei Prefecture.
• After three days and nights of flight, the Snake-Bone Masked One stopped to regulate her breathing and fight Jiang Wang.

Jiang Wang caught up with Snake-Bone Masked One and defeated her, crippling her Heaven-Connecting Palace. He prepared to question her about the White Bone Sect, offering her a quick death if she cooperated.

• Jiang Wang pursued Snake-Bone Masked One across Yang State and confronted her in Chiwei Prefecture.
• Snake-Bone Masked One attacked Jiang Wang with the Plague Bell and Snake Tongue Sword, while Jiang Wang countered with Sea of Flowers and Tiger Binding.
• Jiang Wang used an illusion to evade the Snake Tongue Sword and cut off Snake-Bone Masked One's tongue.
• Jiang Wang struck Snake-Bone Masked One's Dao Vein Dragon and crippled her Heaven-Connecting Palace.
• Jiang Wang restrained Snake-Bone Masked One and told her to write answers to his questions in exchange for a quick death.

Jiang Wang interrogated the Snake-Bone Masked One and learned that Zhang Linchuan was the White Bone Envoy and that the White Bone Sect had come to the Yang State to spread the Black Plague. After she threatened him with the coming Age of White Bone, Jiang Wang killed her and challenged her to find him again.

• The Snake-Bone Masked One explained that Yue City cultivators had mistaken Jiang Wang for Zhang Linchuan.
• She listed the White Bone Sect's senior members, including the Holy Lord, Lu Yan, Zhang Linchuan, Miao Yu, and several masked members.
• The Snake-Bone Masked One confirmed that the sect had come to the Yang State to spread the Black Plague using her bell.
• She refused to reveal Zhang Linchuan's whereabouts and threatened Jiang Wang with the coming Age of White Bone.
• Jiang Wang killed the Snake-Bone Masked One with the Snake Tongue Sword and told her to find him if the Age of White Bone came.

Jiang Wang killed the Snake-Bone Masked One and discovered a mysterious bell among her belongings, whose voice unleashed a terrifying calamity poison on him. After surviving the attack, he reached Cangfeng and remembered that the assassin Su Xiuxing was connected to the Heavenly Pavilion.

• Jiang Wang searched the Snake-Bone Masked One's storage box, took her Ten-Thousand Origin Stones and Snake Tongue Sword, and burned her belongings and corpse.
• Jiang Wang noticed the overlooked bell, which shattered and spoke in a strange voice, filling him with terror and infecting him with severe calamity poison.
• Jiang Wang fled for half an hour, then used the Four Spirits Body Refining Technique and Poison-Swallowing Flowers to resist the poison until nightfall.
• Jiang Wang suspected the voice belonged to the White Bone Sect's Holy Lord and that the Holy Lord was behind the Black Plague in Yang State.
• Jiang Wang followed the Official Path to Cangfeng and recalled that Su Xiuxing came from the local assassin organization called the Heavenly Pavilion.

Yue City's City Lord reported the deaths of three Transcendent cultivators who appeared to have been affected by the Black Plague. In Cangfeng City, Jiang Wang visited the Heavenly Pavilion to hire an assassin to kill Su Xiuxing, but learned that Su had joined Hell's Gate and was out of reach.

• Yue City's City Lord discovered that Li Yang and two veteran constables had died near the city's border with appearances resembling Black Plague victims.
• Yue City's City Lord reported the possible threat to the Rizhao Prefecture authorities.
• Jiang Wang entered the Heavenly Pavilion and met A Ce, who tried to persuade him to hire the organization.
• Jiang Wang offered twenty Dao Essence Stones to have Su Xiuxing killed.
• A Ce explained that Su Xiuxing had betrayed the Heavenly Pavilion and joined Hell's Gate, so the organization would not target him.
• Jiang Wang decided to let Su Xiuxing go for now.

Jiang Wang hired the Heavenly Pavilion to deliver an anonymous warning to the Yang State court about the White Bone Sect Holy Lord’s designs, then returned to Rizhao Prefecture to oversee his base and cultivate. In the Great Void Illusion Realm, he concluded that the Underworld Candle in his Heaven-Connecting Palace might be influencing his thoughts, and feared its power over him was growing.

• Jiang Wang paid A Ce thirty Dao Essence Stones to secretly deliver a letter to the Yang State State Monarch or someone close to him.
• Jiang Wang returned to Rizhao Prefecture after visiting the Heavenly Pavilion in Cangfeng City.
• Jiang Wang worked harder at cultivation while the Black Plague was contained in Green Sheep Town and his team began to take shape.
• Jiang Wang recalled overlooking the Plague Bell after killing the Snake-Bone Masked One and feared that another consciousness had interfered with his thoughts.
• Jiang Wang suspected the Underworld Candle in his Heaven-Connecting Palace was influencing him, and worried that its control was growing stronger.

Jiang Wang investigated the Underworld Candle’s growing influence on his mind and decided to explore the Red Makeup Mirror for a way to counter it. After testing the mirror’s powers, he entered its inner world with his Divine Soul and found himself trapped in a dangerous Flying Snow Tribulation.

• Jiang Wang concluded that the Underworld Candle was likely affecting his will and chose the Red Makeup Mirror as his best hope for addressing it.
• Jiang Wang entered the mirror world with his physical body and discovered that he could observe and create reflections within a radius of one li.
• Jiang Wang exited the mirror world and sent his Divine Soul inside while his physical body held the Red Makeup Mirror.
• A cold voice declared the start of the Flying Snow Tribulation, and Jiang Wang realized the path back for the part of his Divine Soul inside the mirror had been severed.
• Jiang Wang understood that failing the tribulation could permanently cost him part of his Divine Soul.

Jiang Wang faced the Flying Snow Tribulation inside the Red Makeup Mirror while Xiao Xiao and Zhu Biqiong discovered his body was unresponsive. As Xiang Qian took up guard outside Jiang Wang’s room, Jiang Wang remained trapped in the Snowfield.

• Jiang Wang used the Vermilion Bird Body Refining Art and his sword techniques to resist the freezing snow, but the endless Flying Snow Tribulation eventually buried him.
• After Jiang Wang failed to emerge from his room for ten days, Xiao Xiao found him motionless with the Red Makeup Mirror in his hand and a faint heartbeat.
• Xiao Xiao sought Zhu Biqiong’s help, and Zhu Biqiong recognized that Jiang Wang was trapped inside the mirror but could only escape by himself.
• Xiang Qian confronted Xiao Xiao and Zhu Biqiong, then sat outside Jiang Wang’s room and entrusted Xiao Xiao with deciding who could enter.

Jiang Wang endured the Mirror Makeup Mirror’s Flying Snow Tribulation for twenty days, sustained by his resolve and the prayers of Green Sheep Town’s people. After returning to the real world, he found the mirror’s space and probing range had expanded and began investigating what else the tribulation had changed.

• Jiang Wang held on through the Flying Snow Tribulation by remembering An'an and hearing the prayers of people in Green Sheep Town.
• On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, Jiang Wang accepted the Great Void Illusion Realm’s Blessed Land challenge, then immediately conceded to restore his Divine Soul.
• Jiang Wang’s Divine Soul returned to the mirror world, dispelled the snow, and reentered his body.
• Jiang Wang woke after twenty days, and Xiang Qian remarked that he was still alive before leaving.
• Dugu Xiao, Zhu Biqiong, and Zhang Hai visited Jiang Wang, who later returned to the Mirror Makeup Mirror and found its space had grown to a five-step radius and its probing range to five li.
• Jiang Wang examined himself, wondering what other rewards the Flying Snow Tribulation had brought him.

After passing the Flying Snow Tribulation, Jiang Wang used a Divine Soul Flame Flower to light the Underworld Candle and discovered that a voice lived within it. The voice called itself Jiang Yan, a part of Jiang Wang’s divine soul tainted by the White Bone Venerable God, and asked him to help obtain the White Bone Holy Lord’s body.

• Jiang Wang discovered he could freely transform Phantom Flowers into Flame Flowers and used a Divine Soul Flame Flower to ignite the Underworld Candle inside his Heaven-Connecting Palace.
• The Underworld Candle revealed the Yin-Yang Reflection secret art, which doubled the effects of Daoist Arts enhanced by White Bone Sect secret arts.
• A voice extinguished Jiang Wang’s Divine Soul Flame Flower and warned that using White Bone Sect secret arts deepened the White Bone Venerable God’s taint.
• The voice identified itself as Jiang Yan, a tainted part of Jiang Wang’s divine soul that had emerged when he used the Flesh-Regenerating Soul-Returning Technique on White Lotus, or Miao Yu.
• Jiang Yan asked Jiang Wang to help him obtain the body of the White Bone Holy Lord, and Jiang Wang said that would be difficult anytime soon.