Chapter Summaries

Zheng Yi followed the map to the Soul Devouring Sect, where his disciple token led him through an enormous illusion array concealed over the wasteland. He reached the sect’s mist-shrouded grounds and realized its defenses and hidden foundations were more formidable than he had expected.

• Zheng Yi witnessed demonic cultivators wielding a blood-eyed banner and summoning Flying Bats that devastated the landscape, deepening his awareness of the Demon Domain’s dangers.
• Zheng Yi reached the location on Chen Jiu’s map but found only barren wilderness and wondered if he had been misled or taken the wrong route.
• Zheng Yi’s Inner Sect Disciple token vibrated and pointed him toward the correct path, reassuring him that Chen Jiu had not deceived him.
• Zheng Yi crossed an enormous illusion array and entered a dense sea of mist that obscured the Soul Devouring Sect’s grounds.
• Zheng Yi concluded that the Soul Devouring Sect’s concealed defenses revealed a deeper foundation than its reputation suggested.

Zheng Yi followed his Inner Sect Token through the Soul Devouring Sect’s dangerous cliffs and into its secluded valley, where he sought directions to the Internal Affairs Hall. He intimidated Liang Qing with his status and chilling aura, then demanded to know why Liang Qing had stopped him.

• Zheng Yi used his Inner Sect Token to follow a red marker across a narrow staircase above the Ten Thousand Zhang Abyss and entered the sect’s valley.
• Two Soul Devouring Sect disciples checked Zheng Yi’s token and let him pass into the valley, where he found few disciples because the sect was at war with the Hundred Beasts Sect.
• Zheng Yi stopped Liang Qing and asked where the Internal Affairs Hall was.
• Liang Qing mistook Zheng Yi for a low-ranking newcomer, then saw his Inner Sect Token and respectfully gave him directions.
• Liang Qing called after Zheng Yi, and Zheng Yi turned back and demanded an explanation.

Zheng Yi learned about the Soul Devouring Sect’s hierarchy and the prolonged war with the Hundred Beasts Sect, which gave him time to plan around Elder Gongsun’s suspicions. After completing his transfer as an Inner Sect Disciple, he hurried to the Back Mountain’s Law Transmission Hall to seek cultivation methods and techniques for his Soul Devouring Banner.

• Liang Qing explained the sect’s halls and hierarchy to Zheng Yi, then described the ongoing battle over the Mid-Grade Spirit Stone Mine with the Hundred Beasts Sect.
• Zheng Yi concluded that the war would likely last for years and considered Elder Gongsun’s absence an opportunity to avoid scrutiny.
• Zheng Yi decided to obtain the next cultivation method and Soul Devouring Banner techniques before finding a reason to leave the sect.
• Zheng Yi collected a sect map, completed his Inner Sect Disciple transfer at the Internal Affairs Hall, and received his robes and residence access restriction.
• Zheng Yi followed the map to the Back Mountain’s Law Transmission Hall.

Zheng Yi entered the Law Transmission Hall and selected the Black Fiend Technique’s follow-up stages and a manual for refining the Soul Devouring Banner. The chapter left him with one of his three permitted choices still available.

• Zheng Yi presented his Inner Sect Token and entered the Law Transmission Hall, while his Soul Devouring Banner detected concealed defenses watching him.
• Zheng Yi kept his perception hidden and browsed the Hall’s extensive collection of cultivation techniques and secret arts.
• Zheng Yi chose the Black Fiend Technique’s stages from Qi Refining through Foundation Establishment.
• Zheng Yi selected the Soul Devouring Banner’s subsequent refining method because the artifact was nearing its capacity.

Zheng Yi chose the Profound Fiend Body Tempering Art, which used Killing Intent to strengthen the body and required blood qi to prevent bodily damage. In his new cultivation room, he began testing whether the Soul Devouring Banner could supply the Killing Intent the art needed.

• Zheng Yi selected the Profound Fiend Body Tempering Art because his Black Fiend Technique and Soul Devouring Banner could produce Killing Intent.
• He considered how he might replenish the blood qi required by the body-tempering art and committed three cultivation techniques to memory in the Law Transmission Hall.
• Zheng Yi swore a Heavenly Dao Oath not to pass on the techniques, then obtained an Inner Sect Disciple cultivation room.
• He released the Soul Devouring Banner to shroud the room and circulated the Profound Fiend Body Tempering Art.
• Zheng Yi drew Killing Intent from the room onto his skin, where a gray layer formed as the energy surged into his body.

Zheng Yi discovered that Zombie Crystal Cores replenished his blood qi with pure life energy, allowing him to cultivate the Profound Fiend Body Tempering Art. He continued cultivating cautiously at the Soul Devouring Sect and avoided revealing the unusual resources and methods tied to the Apocalyptic World.

• Zheng Yi used a Zombie Crystal Core to restore his blood qi and realized its energy had no Pill Poison impurities.
• Zheng Yi entered seclusion, circulated the Profound Fiend Body Tempering Art, and fed on more Zombie Crystal Cores as his blood qi dwindled.
• Zheng Yi cultivated diligently at the Soul Devouring Sect, using the Defense Formation and Soul Devouring Banner to conceal his activities.
• Zheng Yi refrained from advancing the Black Fiend Technique or refining the Soul Devouring Banner openly because a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator was stationed at the sect.

Zheng Yi decided to seek an outlying garrison posting so he could leave Soul Devouring Sect and avoid being drawn into its intensifying war with Hundred Beasts Sect. He headed to the Internal Affairs Hall to pursue the assignment.

• Zheng Yi finished cultivating and concluded that the sect’s Second-Grade Spirit Vein was not worth the risk of exposing his secrets.
• Zheng Yi considered the escalating war over a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone mine vein and learned that Soul Devouring Sect was conscripting its fourth batch of Inner Sect Disciples.
• Zheng Yi relied on his two-year exemption as a newly promoted Inner Sect Disciple but decided he still needed a way to leave the sect.
• Zheng Yi settled on applying for an outlying garrison assignment, which would keep him away from the war conscription and give him room to cultivate.
• Zheng Yi headed to the Internal Affairs Hall to seek a garrison posting.

Zheng Yi bribed Attendant Zhang to help him secure a safe Inner Sect assignment and was sent to guard a remote Black Iron Essence Mine. He accepted the two-year posting and had ten days to reach the mine.

• Zheng Yi gave Attendant Zhang more than thirty Low-Grade Spirit Stones and asked for a relatively safe garrison assignment.
• Attendant Zhang checked Zheng Yi’s record, assumed he was connected to Elder Gongsun, and searched the register for a suitable posting.
• Attendant Zhang assigned Zheng Yi to a small Black Iron Essence Mine three hundred li from the sect, near the weakened Qi Family and a few Rogue Cultivators.
• Zheng Yi reviewed the mine’s circumstances and decided its remote, quiet location suited his plans to keep a low profile.
• Attendant Zhang recorded the assignment in Zheng Yi’s Inner Sect Disciple Token and told him to reach the mine within ten days for a two-year term.

Zheng Yi bought Earth Soul Silver and used it to upgrade his Soul Devouring Banner in a Blazing Fire Chamber. He completed the ninety-nine Yin Demon Seal Scripts, and the banner erupted with black mist and ghostly hands.

• Zheng Yi left the sect for his mine-guarding assignment after gathering supplies and materials to upgrade his Soul Devouring Banner.
• Zheng Yi bought a lump of Earth Soul Silver at the Sect Marketplace and rented a Blazing Fire Chamber.
• Zheng Yi melted the Earth Soul Silver and other materials, then fused them into the Soul Devouring Banner.
• Zheng Yi used his essence blood to inscribe ninety-nine Yin Demon Seal Scripts on the banner, exhausting himself in the process.
• The Yin Demon Seal Scripts converged into the banner, which released black mist and writhing ghostly hands.

Zheng Yi refined Earth Soul Silver into his Soul Devouring Banner and planned to strengthen it into a Foundation Establishment-level artifact. After recalling the dangers of the Apocalyptic World, he resolved to gather more materials during his assignment guarding the Black Essence Iron Mine.

• Zheng Yi fully refined the Soul Devouring Banner, binding its ninety-nine Great Yin-Demon Scripts of Soul-Binding and Ghost-Enslaving to himself.
• Zheng Yi considered Withered Soul Old Ancestor's legendary Thousand Soul Banner and decided to build his own banner's power through accumulated resources.
• Zheng Yi recalled reports of a ghost army that had crushed a city of zombies and a giant ghost that transformed its victims, tempering his excitement about the Apocalyptic World.
• Zheng Yi concluded that strengthening his banner would let him capture more powerful ghosts without rushing his cultivation and destabilizing his foundation.
• Zheng Yi planned to search for the remaining materials during his trip to guard the Black Essence Iron Mine, which would also help him earn Spirit Stones.

Zheng Yi arrived at the Black Refined Iron Ore Vein in Ba Dong Town, where the Qi Family planned to keep control of the mine and conceal a secret in its depths. The Qi Family tried to overwhelm him and invite him to a banquet, but Zheng Yi insisted on inspecting the ore vein first.

• Qi Yuanshang and Qi Yuanming discussed how to handle the new Soul Devouring Sect guard, while Clan Chief Qi Yuanzong ordered that the Qi Family's secret in the mine's deepest section must remain hidden.
• Qi Yuanzong and the other Qi Family leaders went to meet Zheng Yi and released their auras to intimidate him.
• Zheng Yi identified himself as the Soul Devouring Sect's envoy and said he had come to guard the ore vein.
• After sensing that Zheng Yi was at Qi Refining Stage Four, the Qi Family members grew confident that they could manage him.
• Qi Yuanzong invited Zheng Yi to a meal, but Zheng Yi declined and demanded to inspect the ore vein, leaving Qi Yuanzong surprised.

Zheng Yi investigated the Qi Family’s Black Refined Iron Mine and uncovered both missing ore and a hidden Nine Yin Gathering Evil Vein Termination Array. He declared the three Qi brothers guilty, and Qi Yuanzong prepared to fight him.

• Zheng Yi ignored Qi Yuanzong’s attempts to keep him from the mine and announced that he would be stationed there.
• Zheng Yi used the Soul-Capturing Demonic Sound to make overseer Qi Lin reveal that the mine produced sixteen thousand jun of ore monthly, though only about six thousand six hundred jun had been reported to the sect.
• Zheng Yi confronted Qi Yuanzong over the missing ore, while Qi Yuanzong and his brothers gathered against him.
• Zheng Yi revealed that the Qi Family had installed a Nine Yin Gathering Evil Vein Termination Array and declared the three Qi brothers guilty on behalf of the Soul Devouring Sect.
• Zheng Yi summoned the Soul Devouring Banner, and Qi Yuanzong vowed to capture him and accuse him before Lord Deacon.

Zheng Yi learned that the Qi Family was hiding a Spirit Stone vein and a powerful array, so Qi Yuanzong moved to kill him and silence everyone who knew. Zheng Yi unleashed the Soul Devouring Banner and trapped the Qi Family in a battle with no way to retreat.

• Qi Yuanzong decided the Qi Family had to kill Zheng Yi and silence the valley’s witnesses to protect the secrets beneath the mine.
• The Qi Family attacked Zheng Yi with Flying Swords while Qi Yuanzong pretended to negotiate.
• The fat man warned Zheng Yi that the Qi brothers had seized and exploited the miners, then urged him to escape and seek help from the sect.
• Zheng Yi used the Soul Devouring Banner to repel the Flying Swords and spread a spell array across the ground.
• The Red-Clothed Female Ghost and Yin Soldiers appeared as Zheng Yi unleashed his full strength against the Qi Family, leaving them without a route of retreat.

Zheng Yi fought Qi Yuanzong, Qi Yuanshang, and Qi Yuanming, countering their lightning-charged swords with the Soul Devouring Banner and his Azure Profound Fiend Demonic Flame. The Qi brothers formed a Three Talents sword formation around him, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Zheng Yi attacked the Qi brothers with tentacles formed from the Soul Devouring Banner, while they used their Flying Swords to defend themselves.
• Qi Yuanzong charged his Flying Sword with impure lightning, and Qi Yuanshang and Qi Yuanming lent him their spiritual qi to strengthen its attack.
• Zheng Yi unleashed Netherworld Ghost Fire empowered by the Azure Profound Fiend Demonic Flame, colliding with Qi Yuanzong's lightning sword and injuring him through their linked consciousness.
• Qi Yuanshang and Qi Yuanming attacked Zheng Yi as Qi Yuanzong tried to dispel the Demonic Flame from his Flying Sword.
• The three Qi brothers joined their Flying Swords into a Three Talents formation that descended to suppress Zheng Yi amid a storm of sword qi.

Zheng Yi used his Soul Devouring Banner to break Qi Yuanzong’s Three Talents Sword Formation and destroy the Qi Family’s Flying Swords. He declared the Qi Family guilty of rebellion and sect violations, and prepared to wipe them out.

• Zheng Yi trapped Qi Yuanzong’s three Flying Swords with Ghost Claws, breaking the Three Talents Sword Formation.
• Zheng Yi’s Netherworld Soldier Vengeful Spirits tore apart the Flying Swords, leaving Qi Yuanzong and the other Qi Family members injured.
• Zheng Yi claimed the Qi Family had tried to murder a sect envoy and destroy evidence, while his Red-Clothed Female Ghost’s pressure made the miners faint.
• Qi Yuanzong realized Zheng Yi’s top-grade Soul Devouring Banner and powerful ghosts could overwhelm the entire Qi Family.
• Zheng Yi accused the Qi Family of concealing the mineral vein and using the Nine Yin Gathering Evil Vein Termination Array, then demanded Qi Yuanzong surrender.

Zheng Yi wiped out the Qi Family’s leaders with the Soul Devouring Banner, then offered Qi Lin the chance to become the new Qi Family head. Qi Lin was left stunned by the prospect of rising from the collateral line to power.

• Zheng Yi sensed the resentment and killing intent beneath the mine and decided to eliminate the Qi Family’s leaders rather than merely suppress them.
• Zheng Yi sent the Red-Clothed Female Ghost and the Soul Devouring Banner’s ghosts to kill the Qi Family’s direct descendants, devouring their souls.
• Zheng Yi realized the Soul Devouring Banner was becoming unstable as the Blood-Clothed Female Ghost neared another transformation.
• Zheng Yi pulled the terrified Qi Lin to his feet and asked whether he wanted to become the Qi Family head.
• Qi Lin considered how his low status and betrayal of the main lineage had left him expecting death, and he was stunned by Zheng Yi’s offer.

After Zheng Yi destroyed the Qi Family Main Lineage, he appointed Qi Lin as the new patriarch to keep the family obedient and manage the Ba Dong Town Mine for him. Zheng Yi then had Qi Lin lead him to inspect the Black Iron Essence vein and the Nine Yin Gathering Evil Vein Termination Array.

• Qi Lin accepted Zheng Yi's offer to become patriarch and pledged the Qi Family's loyalty to him.
• Zheng Yi chose Qi Lin because he needed an obedient local leader to manage the mine and remove the former main lineage's remnants.
• Qi Lin thanked Zheng Yi and began adapting to his new role as patriarch.
• Zheng Yi ordered Qi Lin to take him down to inspect the Black Iron Essence vein and the Nine Yin Gathering Evil Vein Termination Array.

Zheng Yi discovered that the Qi Family Main Lineage had hidden a forbidden passage deep in the mine and uncovered the gruesome secret behind it. The passage led to a concealed chamber filled with human bones and an enormous Skeleton Altar.

• Zheng Yi inspected the abandoned Black Iron Essence mine while Qi Lin told him that the Qi Family Main Lineage forbade entry to the passage known as Devil's Alley.
• Zheng Yi summoned the Soul Devouring Banner and sent Netherworld Soldier Vengeful Spirits ahead before entering the passage alone.
• Zheng Yi followed the passage through dense yin energy until he reached what appeared to be a dead end.
• Zheng Yi cut through the rock wall with his Flying Sword and revealed a concealed chamber full of bones and a massive Skeleton Altar.

Zheng Yi discovered that the Qi Family had used the Nine Yin Gathering Evil Vein Termination Array and a Flesh and Blood Demon Pool to refine a Blood Fetus Ghost Infant. He concluded that the family’s entire main lineage had to be purged, and began considering the forbidden Nether Path technique behind the ritual.

• Zheng Yi entered the Skeleton Altar and found a Bronze Coffin bound by fifteen chains and powered by a sinister array.
• Zheng Yi saw that the altar’s bones came from victims whose flesh had been turned into the Flesh and Blood Demon Pool.
• Zheng Yi discovered a dead pregnant girl preserved in the coffin, with a living Blood Fetus Ghost Infant inside her enormous belly.
• Zheng Yi recognized the infant as a legendary Nether Path creation and realized the Qi Family had pursued the forbidden art for generations.
• Zheng Yi decided the Qi Family’s remaining main lineage needed a thorough purge after discovering their role in the ritual.

Zheng Yi uncovered the Qi Family’s century-long scheme to create a Blood Fetus Ghost Infant and learned that the family had sacrificed people and resources in pursuit of power. The awakened Ghost Infant trapped him in an illusion and drew him toward a baby in a crib.

• Zheng Yi discovered that the Qi Family had prepared the Nine Yin Gathering Evil Vein Termination Array and Flesh and Blood Demon Pool for generations to create a Blood Fetus Ghost Infant.
• Zheng Yi concluded that the Qi Family had spent its resources on the forbidden technique and had used its subjects and collateral descendants as potential materials.
• The Blood Fetus Ghost Infant twitched inside the fetus corpse, opened its green eyes, and met Zheng Yi’s gaze.
• Zheng Yi lost consciousness and awoke in a clean room, where an infant cried from a crib.
• An irresistible affection overcame Zheng Yi, and he walked toward the infant with his arms open.