Chapter Summaries

Zhang Yuanqing sold the Straw Man to Mr. Bill in exchange for money and the cursed Perfect Skin, then suspected a string of mishaps meant he had been cursed. He summoned Little Round to investigate, but as he reached her car, she suddenly warned him to watch out.

• Zhang Yuanqing survived a bus crash on the way to meet Mr. Bill and rescued the unconscious taxi driver.
• Zhang Yuanqing negotiated with Mr. Bill and traded the Straw Man for eight million RMB and the Perfect Skin.
• Annie accidentally—or deliberately—splashed hot tea on Zhang Yuanqing, who avoided serious injury.
• Zhang Yuanqing endured several more accidents and confrontations, then wondered whether he had been cursed and contacted Little Round.
• Little Round arrived at Zhang Yuanqing's home, and she urgently shouted for him to watch out as he approached her car.

Zhang Yuanqing learned that Zhu Rong had cursed him with Fortune Reduction, and Fu Qingyang identified Green Pine Master as the source of the blood she used. After arranging for the Five Elements Alliance to arrest Zhu Rong and investigate the Bronze Sparrow House case, Zhang Yuanqing met the Stop-Killing Palace Mistress to buy Life Essence and learned that Zhu Rong might have planned to make him her male concubine.

• A falling potted plant nearly struck Zhang Yuanqing, and Little Round diagnosed him with a Saint Realm Fortune Reduction curse that could kill him within three days.
• Zhang Yuanqing told Fu Qingyang about the curse and his suspects, and Fu Qingyang promised to investigate.
• Fu Qingyang informed Zhang Yuanqing that Zhu Rong had cursed him using blood Green Pine Master collected during the dungeon competition in exchange for becoming her lover.
• Zhang Yuanqing urged Fu Qingyang to seize the curse medium and use the arrest to investigate the Bronze Sparrow House case.
• Zhang Yuanqing bought two vials of Life Essence from the Stop-Killing Palace Mistress, who warned that Zhu Rong might try to make him her male concubine.

Zhu Rong received a lenient punishment for plotting against Yuanshi Tianzun, but the Mistress of Stop-Killing Palace attacked her and left her gravely injured. Meanwhile, Lady of Three Paths Mountain enlisted an undead general to spread a sacrificial method through Night Wanderer instance dungeons so she could lure the thief who stole her yang soul.

• Great Tang War God and Dog Elder questioned Zhu Rong, who admitted wanting to enslave Yuanshi Tianzun and receiving illegal profits from Bronze Sparrow House, while Zhu Yangqiu disputed the charge that she had plotted against him.
• Zhang Yuanqing objected to Zhu Rong’s punishment, and Fu Qingyang and Ling Jun explained the legal and political limits on the case.
• Zhu Yangqiu warned Zhu Rong to stop targeting Yuanshi Tianzun, but she returned to her villa intent on continuing her pursuit of him.
• The Mistress of Stop-Killing Palace bound Zhu Rong, revealed that she considered Yuanshi Tianzun her male consort, and mutilated Zhu Rong before Zhu Yangqiu found her.
• Lady of Three Paths Mountain asked a skeletal general to spread her sacrificial method through Night Wanderer instance dungeons so she could lure the thief who had stolen her yang soul.
• Fu Qingyang told Zhang Yuanqing that Zhu Rong had been attacked and skinned by the Mistress of Stop-Killing Palace, and that the Zhu Family wanted the Songhai Branch to arrest her.

Zhang Yuanqing helped Kou Beiyue restore his name and reunite with his parents, but the Public Security Bureau refused to admit wrongdoing or provide compensation, so Zhang paid the family himself. As he watched the Saint Realm competition, his second solo Spirit Realm opened unexpectedly, sending him into the undocumented A-rank death-type instance Speechless Village.

• Fu Qingyang arranged for the Sandmouth District Public Security Bureau to revoke Kou Beiyue's wanted order and reopen his sister's murder case under a face-saving explanation, while Zhang Yuanqing angrily insulted the bureau's director.
• Kou Beiyue admitted to Little Round that he missed his parents and wanted to go home, and Zhang Yuanqing arrived with the bureau's statement and teased him into reading it.
• Zhang Yuanqing brought Kou Beiyue and Little Round to his parents' home, where Kou Beiyue's parents wept as they learned his case would be retried and he had been found innocent.
• Zhang Yuanqing gave Kou Beiyue's family three hundred thousand in compensation from his own money, then told Little Round he was angry at the authorities' arrogance and indifference.
• At the Saint Realm competition, Zhang Yuanqing's second solo Spirit Realm opened and assigned him the A-rank death-type instance Speechless Village, whose main quest was to survive for 24 hours.

Zhang Yuanqing entered the unguided A-rank solo instance Speechless Village, leaving the Five Elements Alliance elders to consider the value of its potential strategy. In the silent village, he found a mute old man who pointed him toward Wang Xiao'er, then realized the Cat King Speaker might provide information about the dungeon.

• Zhang Yuanqing told his companions that Speechless Village was an unguided A-rank instance and entered it with seven or eight blue pills, the Cat King Speaker, and Undead No. 1.
• Fu Qingyang informed the Five Elements Alliance elders that Zhang Yuanqing was pioneering Speechless Village, and they discussed buying its strategy from Taiyi Sect if he cleared it.
• Zhang Yuanqing arrived at the ruined village and decided to find Wang Xiao'er, one of the dungeon's key figures, while trying to survive for twenty-four hours.
• Zhang Yuanqing spotted someone watching him, entered the house, and found a mute old man who pointed west after Zhang threatened him with a stool.
• Zhang Yuanqing left the house and realized the Cat King Speaker might know something about Speechless Village.

Zhang Yuanqing used a nursery rhyme to infer that he needed to restore the tongue of a villager and find three players before nightfall, then located Wang Xiao'er and questioned him about the village’s silence. Outside the dungeon, Yin Ji recognized Speechless Village as a dangerous dungeon that had nearly killed the Demon Lord.

• Zhang Yuanqing threatened the Cat King Speaker until it played a nursery rhyme, which he interpreted as a warning about a game after dark and a shadow joining if there were fewer than three players.
• Zhang Yuanqing discovered that the old man’s tongue had been cut out and concluded that restoring it was his next task, so he forced the man to lead him to Wang Xiao'er.
• Zhang Yuanqing reached Wang Xiao'er’s courtyard and learned that Wang Xiao'er and a Taoist priest had discovered and opened a Ming Dynasty tomb in the back mountain.
• Yin Ji recognized Speechless Village and told Fu Qingyang that the Demon Lord had nearly died and suffered severe injuries there.

Zhang Yuanqing entered Wang Xiao'er’s house in Speechless Village, fought and defeated the powerful undead, then discovered that the severed tongues could restore the villagers’ speech. After returning a tongue to the old man, he prepared to question him about the village’s clues and funerary objects.

• Yin Ji told the Five Elements Alliance elders that Demon Lord had nearly died in Speechless Village, deepening their fears for Zhang Yuanqing.
• Zhang Yuanqing sent Undead No. 1 into Wang Xiao'er’s house, where a severed head attacked it and Wang Xiao'er’s headless body reassembled itself.
• Zhang Yuanqing fought Wang Xiao'er with Undead No. 1, Spirit Roaming, and the Silencer Mask, then dismembered him and collected corpse-puppet fluid.
• Zhang Yuanqing searched Wang Xiao'er’s room for funerary objects but found none, then realized the tongues hanging from the rafters might be clues.
• Zhang Yuanqing returned a severed tongue to the old man, restoring his speech, and the old man agreed to answer his questions.

Zhang Yuanqing questioned a village elder about Wang Xiao'er’s cursed antiques and learned how the village’s nightly hauntings worked. As the villagers transformed into yin corpses at the fourth watch, the game ended and the ghost child attacked Zhang Yuanqing.

• Zhang Yuanqing learned that Wang Xiao'er had returned from tomb raiding with three antiques, after which a ghostly woman appeared and Wang Xiao'er became a yin corpse.
• The old man described the tongueless ghost child, Mr. Xu’s death beside a paper effigy, and a forgotten event at the fourth watch; Zhang Yuanqing inferred that the villagers were dead and transformed into yin corpses at night.
• Zhang Yuanqing summoned Undead No. 1 and played “You Clap One” with the old man to keep the ghost child from joining their game.
• The old man remembered that everyone in the village died at the fourth watch, transformed into a yin corpse, and attacked Zhang Yuanqing.
• Undead No. 1 knocked the old man away, ending the game, and the ghost child appeared behind Zhang Yuanqing and twisted his body out of shape.

Zhang Yuanqing survived the Ghost Doll’s possession by using Spirit Devour, Howl at the Moon, and the Yin-Yang Robe, then waited for the danger to pass. As the second watch approached, the Cat King Speaker warned him to run when he asked how to deal with the paper figures.

• The Ghost Doll twisted Zhang Yuanqing’s body, but Spirit Devour and Howl at the Moon let him regain partial control.
• Undead No. 1 helped Zhang Yuanqing put on both Empress Earth Boots and deploy the Yin-Yang Robe, creating water-and-fire clones that kept the Ghost Doll from possessing him.
• The Ghost Doll gave up and vanished before the Yin-Yang Robe’s ten-minute limit, and Zhang Yuanqing returned to human form, injured and weakened.
• Zhang Yuanqing used Little Doubi to inspect a house and found that its villagers had become yin corpses that did not attack unless someone entered.
• Zhang Yuanqing asked the Cat King Speaker how to survive the paper figures, and it screamed for him to run.

Zhang Yuanqing searched Mr. Xu’s house for clues about the Paper Man and found the dangerous Blood Rouge. When the Paper Man arrived, he hid beneath the bed, but it spotted him.

• Zhang Yuanqing used Spirit Devour on two villagers and learned that Mr. Xu’s house stood beside the river on the western side of the village.
• Zhang Yuanqing rested until his injuries and stamina partly recovered, then went with Undead No. 1 to Mr. Xu’s house.
• Zhang Yuanqing found the Blood Rouge, learned that it could possess its user and cause bodily necrosis, and discovered Mr. Xu’s map of an ancient tomb.
• As the second watch began, Zhang Yuanqing hid beneath the bed in Night Wandering while the Paper Man entered and searched the room.
• The Paper Man peered beneath the bed and saw Zhang Yuanqing.

Zhang Yuanqing survived the paper effigy by letting it drain his body’s blood essence, then reviving himself with Life Essence. Realizing Speechless Village’s difficulty was far beyond its A-rank rating, he reviewed the clues and finally understood how the dungeon was meant to be played.

• The paper effigy overwhelmed Zhang Yuanqing’s attacks, froze Undead No. 1, and drained Zhang Yuanqing’s blood essence until his body became a corpse.
• Zhang Yuanqing gambled that the paper effigy would stop after draining one person, and it left the house without attacking Undead No. 1.
• Zhang Yuanqing used Life Essence to restore his body and returned to it after the paper effigy was gone.
• Zhang Yuanqing concluded the dungeon’s difficulty was abnormal and searched his memories for the cause.
• Zhang Yuanqing entered Superbrain, replayed the dungeon’s clues, and realized how it was meant to be played.

Zhang Yuanqing realized that the ancient tomb was the safest route through Speechless Village and left the village to find it. He discovered too late that the tomb was an illusion cast by the bronze mirror, and the Princess arrived as the illusion collapsed.

• Zhang Yuanqing concluded that he needed to escape the village for the ancient tomb and set out with Undead No. 1, using the river to orient himself.
• Zhang Yuanqing released Little Doubi to find the tomb, but the Infant Spirit repeatedly crawled back toward the village, so he continued searching on his own.
• Zhang Yuanqing found a robbers' tunnel and entered what appeared to be an ancient tomb, but he could not open the coffin or the burial chests.
• Zhang Yuanqing used the Insight Glasses and Little Doubi's treasure-hunting ability to realize that the orderly burial chamber was an illusion created by the bronze mirror.
• Zhang Yuanqing understood that he had never left the village and that the mirror had cast its charm spell around the third watch.
• The Princess arrived as a bone-chilling yin wind tore apart the tomb illusion.

Zhang Yuanqing escaped the Princess’s pursuit by sacrificing Undead No. 1 as a substitute and fleeing to the real ancient tomb. After the Princess’s pressure finally withdrew, he prepared to investigate the burial chamber’s coffin and boxes.

• Zhang Yuanqing charged into the Princess’s overwhelming yin energy to rescue Little Doubi, then fought her with his Empress Earth Boots, Thug’s Gloves, and Explosive Pistol.
• Zhang Yuanqing used the Cat King Speaker’s drums and the Red Dancing Shoes to escape the Princess’s grasp, then disguised Undead No. 1 with Perfect Skin to draw her pursuit away from him.
• Zhang Yuanqing raced through the village and reached the real ancient tomb, confirming that the burial chamber matched the one in the illusion.
• Zhang Yuanqing danced with the Red Dancing Shoes to satisfy their demand, worsening his injured foot, and waited as the Princess’s pressure descended over the tomb before retreating.
• Zhang Yuanqing realized Perfect Skin had let Undead No. 1 bear the danger in his place and turned toward the main burial chamber to inspect the coffin and boxes.

Zhang Yuanqing discovered that the wandering Daoist had hidden in the princess’s jade coffin and that a Flame God Talisman kept the princess from returning to her tomb. Realizing the dungeon’s hidden mission was to return her stolen artifacts, he recovered them and set off to complete it.

• Zhang Yuanqing read Princess Yin Yao’s epitaph and found a sacrificial parchment hidden in a Night Wanderer Breathing Method book.
• Zhang Yuanqing opened the jade coffin, found the wandering Daoist inside, and deduced how the Daoist had occupied it after Wang Xiao'er stole the tomb’s artifacts.
• Zhang Yuanqing identified the Flame God Talisman as the reason the princess could not enter her tomb and concluded that the dungeon contained a hidden mission.
• Zhang Yuanqing returned to the village with Little Doubi, found Undead No. 1 destroyed, and recovered the Perfect Skin and silver rouge box.
• Zhang Yuanqing dug up the Yin Jade Doll and Ghost Mirror, then placed them and the silver rouge box in a basket to return to Princess Yin Yao.

Zhang Yuanqing completed Speechless Village, earned substantial experience and rewards, and discovered that his new Teleportation Jade Casket could explain how Brother Bing left the Cat King Speaker in Jinshui Amusement Park. As the dungeon ended, he returned to the real world, where Guan Ya and Li Dongze worried because he had not yet come back.

• Zhang Yuanqing removed the talisman sealing the tomb and waited for his mission to end, while the Princess appeared, acknowledged him, and withdrew with the yin energy.
• Zhang Yuanqing received 40% experience, replicas of the three dungeon items, and the Teleportation Jade Casket, reaching Level 3 with 58% experience.
• Zhang Yuanqing realized the jade talismans could let him revisit dungeons and inferred that Brother Bing used one to place the Cat King Speaker in Jinshui Amusement Park.
• Zhang Yuanqing's five-minute countdown ended, and Speechless Village rippled away as he exited the Spirit Realm.
• Li Dongze asked whether Yuanshi had returned, while Guan Ya reported that his phone was switched off and worried rumors about his death continued to spread.

Zhang Yuanqing returned from clearing Speechless Village, relieved Guan Ya and the Songhai Branch, and learned how widely people had feared for his survival. He decided not to share the instance guide with the Taiyi Sect, while Dog Elder and Elder Sun began seeking it.

• Guan Ya and Li Dongze worried that Zhang Yuanqing might have died in the Spirit Realm until Wang Tai argued that the Demon Lord's near-death experience did not prove Zhang Yuanqing would fail.
• Zhang Yuanqing returned home with a jade case containing three talismans, then encountered his uncle, who believed he had spent the night with a girlfriend.
• Guan Ya called Zhang Yuanqing in delighted relief, and Li Dongze explained the rumors that had made the branch fear he was trapped in Speechless Village.
• Fu Qingyang learned that Zhang Yuanqing had cleared the instance, resumed his sword training, and sent Ling Jun to report the news and handle forum rumors.
• After reading hostile and supportive forum posts, Zhang Yuanqing decided not to give the Speechless Village guide to the Taiyi Sect because its rewards could strengthen their Night Wanderers.
• Elder Sun asked Dog Elder for the guide, but Dog Elder found no record of it and said Fu Qingyang would ask Zhang Yuanqing about it.

Zhang Yuanqing explained why the Speechless Village guide could not be sold to the Taiyi Sect: following it would reliably grant powerful item replicas that could shift the balance between the two organizations. After seeing the items’ information, Fu Qingyang called Dog Elder and asked him to come to Fu Family Bay to decide the matter.

• Fu Qingyang asked Zhang Yuanqing about the Speechless Village guide, and Zhang said he did not want to sell it to the Taiyi Sect.
• Zhang Yuanqing visited Fu Family Bay, where Fu Qingyang, Guan Ya, Ling Jun, and Li Dongze asked what made Speechless Village so dangerous.
• Zhang Yuanqing said the dungeon was nearly impossible without a guide because its final boss was likely a high-ranking Saint, but easy to clear with the right instructions.
• Zhang Yuanqing showed the others a Yin Jade Doll, a Phoenix Bronze Mirror, and a silver rouge case, explaining that clearing the dungeon with his guide guaranteed replicas of all three.
• Fu Qingyang and the others realized the items could greatly strengthen the Taiyi Sect, so Fu Qingyang called Dog Elder and asked him to come to Fu Family Bay.

Zhang Yuanqing's guide to Speechless Village prompted the Five Elements Alliance to debate selling it to the Taiyi Sect, while the two organizations negotiated terms. As the Slaughter Dungeon approached, Zhang prepared to advance to Saint, and Kou Beiyue learned that Yuanshi Tianzun and Fu Qingyang were central figures in an upcoming summit where one of them was expected to die.

• Zhang Yuanqing described Speechless Village's dangers to Fu Qingyang, Guan Ya, Li Dongze, and Ling Jun before Dog Elder examined the three rewards and decided the guide had to be reported to headquarters.
• Dog Elder told Elder Sun that the guide could make the otherwise deadly dungeon easy and yield three powerful items, prompting Elder Sun to summon the Council of Ten Elders to decide whether to sell it to the Taiyi Sect.
• The Council of Ten Elders debated the guide's strategic value, while Sun Miaomiao saw Ling Jun and Zhao Chenghuang confirm online that Speechless Village could dramatically strengthen those who cleared it.
• Zhang Yuanqing told Aunt that he had rescued Zhu Rong from Demon Lord, and Fu Qingyang later told him the Taiyi Sect had agreed to buy the guide under conditions requiring shared rewards and an exchange of high-level dungeon guides.
• Fu Qingyang told Zhang Yuanqing to prepare for the Slaughter Dungeon and said he would find a replacement Yin Corpse, while Zhang agreed to attend the organizations' online mobilization meeting.
• Kou Beiyue visited Human Blood Bun's new Spirit Energy Society gathering place and learned that Yuanshi Tianzun and Fu Qingyang were central to an upcoming summit where one of them was expected to die in the midyear Slaughter Dungeon.

Zhang Yuanqing prepared for the upcoming Slaughter Instance and tested whether a teleportation jade talisman could take him into another Spirit Realm. Meanwhile, Annie reported on Yuanshi Tianzun and revealed that the Goddess of Beauty Association was searching for an important item the Demon Lord had possessed; Zhang Yuanqing ended the chapter selecting Jinshui Amusement Park as his destination.

• Kou Beiyue asked Human Blood Bun about the plan to hunt Yuanshi Tianzun, then arranged to attend the summit by joining the midyear Slaughter Instance with the Spirit Energy Society's recommendation.
• Zhang Yuanqing listed preparations for the Slaughter Instance, including refining a Yin Corpse, acquiring Life Essence, gathering sacrificial materials, and testing a teleportation jade talisman.
• Annie emailed the Goddess of Beauty Association about Yuanshi Tianzun and received instructions to wait until after the Slaughter Instance before attempting to recruit him.
• Annie told Mr. Bill that the Association was searching for something the president had given the Demon Lord, which had disappeared after his death without returning to the Spirit Realm.
• Zhang Yuanqing crushed his teleportation jade talisman and chose Jinshui Amusement Park, number 6203, as his Spirit Realm destination.

Zhang Yuanqing returned to Jinshui Amusement Park using a Teleportation Jade Talisman, recruited the Ghost Bride as a Spirit Servant, and obtained a portrait of the mysterious person who had appeared during his fight with Black Impermanence. After asking Guan Ya to identify the man, he learned that the portrait matched the Demon Lord.

• Zhang Yuanqing entered Jinshui Amusement Park without a Spirit Realm mission and decided to visit the Ghost Bride despite realizing the jade talisman only allowed one-way travel.
• Zhang Yuanqing gathered the betrothal gifts, summoned the Ghost Bride, and learned that she recognized him and could draw the mysterious person who had appeared on the night Black Impermanence attacked him.
• The Ghost Bride told Zhang Yuanqing that the Lady of Three Paths Mountain would spare him if he returned the Demon Subduing Pestle and admitted his mistake, then asked him to take her away.
• Zhang Yuanqing refined the Ghost Bride into a Spirit Servant, returned her Red Bridal Veil, and left the Spirit Realm with her and Little Doubi.
• Zhang Yuanqing sent the mysterious person's portrait to Guan Ya for identification, and Guan Ya reported that the Five Elements Alliance database matched it to the Demon Lord.