Chapter Summaries

Zhang Yuanqing investigated the mysterious person who impersonated the Demon Lord and chose to keep his suspicions secret. Meanwhile, Kou Beiyue considered infiltrating an evil-organization summit, and Zhang Yuanqing joined an online meeting for the upcoming Slaughter Instance Dungeon.

• Zhang Yuanqing recalled Master Wuhen’s assurance that the Demon Lord was dead, then asked the Ghost Bride whether she recognized the mysterious person; she did not.
• Zhang Yuanqing considered reporting the incident but decided to conceal it because revealing himself as the Demon Lord’s inheritor could put him in greater danger.
• Kou Beiyue told Little Round about the summit’s plot against Yuanshi Tianzun and his plan to attend, but Little Round warned him about the admission tests and suggested Master Wuhen could help.
• Zhang Yuanqing logged into the authorities’ online meeting and saw thirty-eight participants, including Zhao Chenghuang, Sun Miaomiao, and other familiar Spirit Realm Walkers.

Zhang Yuanqing attended Elder Ten Steps’ briefing on the slaughter dungeon, learning its survival rules, points system, past rankings, and the threats posed by Evil Professions. The meeting ended with headquarters ordering the contestants to rally around Zhang Yuanqing, who would receive an equipment set because evil organizations had marked him and Fu Qingyang for death.

• Zhang Yuanqing built rapport with the other contestants while Sun Miaomiao considered joining his group rather than centering the Night Wanderers on Zhao Chenghuang.
• Elder Ten Steps explained that contestants had to survive for seventy-two hours, earned points through dungeon objectives and hunting, and could even hunt members of their own faction.
• Zhang Yuanqing studied past leaderboards, noting the Female Marshal’s censored 980-point record, Demon Lord’s 940 points, and Young Soldier King’s 860 points.
• Elder Ten Steps warned that Evil Professions used curses, toxins, illusions, and infiltration, and said equipment sets could bypass the dungeon’s item-level restriction.
• Elder Ten Steps revealed that evil organizations planned to kill Yuanshi Tianzun or Fu Qingyang, so headquarters would equip Zhang Yuanqing with a set and urged everyone to support him.
• Elder Ten Steps concluded the meeting by sending contestants lists of leading Evil Profession members and independent cultivators.

Zhang Yuanqing reviewed the strongest Transcendence Realm contenders, refined a powerful new corpse puppet, and let the Ghost Bride possess it. Meanwhile, Kou Beiyue and Human Blood Bun reached the summit venue in Copper Town, where Kou secretly used a jade talisman to contact Master Wuhen before entering.

• Zhang Yuanqing studied the authorities’ lists of dangerous evil-organization members and independent cultivators, noting the threats posed by A Yi, I Alone Reign Supreme, and Nine-Leak Fish.
• Human Blood Bun took Kou Beiyue toward the summit in Jiangnan Province, confiscating his phone before they traveled to Copper Town.
• Fu Qingyang brought Zhang Yuanqing the dying Bewitching Demon Blood Rose, and Zhang Yuanqing used her body, spiritwood, and an Explosive Stone to refine a fire-resistant corpse puppet with powerful burst abilities.
• Zhang Yuanqing summoned the Ghost Bride and had her possess the corpse puppet, but Fu Qingyang returned and mistook the scene for Zhang Yuanqing embracing a woman, warning him to stay away from Guan Ya.
• At the teahouse restroom in Copper Town, Kou Beiyue crushed a jade talisman to contact Master Wuhen before rejoining Human Blood Bun.

Kou Beiyue and Human Blood Bun attended the Free Professions summit, where Thousand-Faced Elder announced plans to hunt Fu Qingyang and Yuanshi Tianzun in the midyear slaughter dungeon. The meeting ended with Dark Night Rose offering four Saints to support the campaign against the Orderly Professions.

• Kou Beiyue resisted Thousand-Faced Elder’s illusion of his dead sister and entered the summit with Human Blood Bun.
• Human Blood Bun introduced Kou Beiyue to the powerful Evil Profession figures gathered at the tea restaurant, including A Yi, Netherworld Wraith, and Lust Divine General.
• Thousand-Faced Elder announced rewards for juniors who cleared slaughter dungeons and declared that the summit’s target was Fu Qingyang and Yuanshi Tianzun.
• Yi Chuanmei described Fu Qingyang’s rule-infused swordsmanship and powerful equipment, while Lust Divine General revealed that Silver Moon would join the slaughter dungeon.
• Snake Woman urged the Saints to follow Silver Moon and wipe out the Orderly faction, but a Dark Night Rose executive warned that Fu Qingyang would have powerful allies.
• The Dark Night Rose executive pledged four Saints to the campaign, and Thousand-Faced Elder outlined Yuanshi Tianzun’s record to the gathered Walkers.

Dark Night Rose and other evil organizations prepared to target Yuanshi Tianzun in the coming Slaughter Instance, prompting him and Fu Qingyang to plan for the threats. As the instance opened at seven in the morning, Zhang Yuanqing stood ready with new equipment and a warning about the enemy’s secret item.

• At the evil-profession summit, Thousand-Faced Elder and the others discussed Yuanshi Tianzun’s strengths and weaknesses, and No Taboos proposed using numbers and a secret item against him.
• Zhang Yuanqing learned from Little Round that Dark Night Rose would join the Slaughter Instance, four Saints would target Fu Qingyang, and No Taboos had received a secret item to use against him.
• Zhang Yuanqing warned Fu Qingyang about the threats, and Fu Qingyang told him to find Guan Ya and keep her close in the instance.
• The Stop-Killing Palace Lord gave Zhang Yuanqing access to a vial of Life Essence from the Xie Family, then left him hanging upside down by a red thread for two hours.
• Before the instance opened, Zhang Yuanqing reviewed the Ironwood Battle Armor issued by the authorities and returned to Fu Family Bay; at seven, the Spirit Realm invited him to enter the large-scale Slaughter Instance.

Zhang Yuanqing entered the Lost City slaughter instance and began crossing the Forbidden Forest, while powerful faction leaders watched the instance and the Female Marshal agreed to wager on his fate. The chapter ended with a voice in the forest calling Zhang Yuanqing by name.

• Zhang Yuanqing entered the Lost City instance, where 183 participants had to survive for 72 hours, hunt for points, and cross the Forbidden Forest.
• Zhang Yuanqing checked the leaderboard, found himself ranked seventy-third, and set out with Blood Rose to reach the forest's central region and find his allies.
• The Female Marshal and other powerful figures watched the instance as Fear Heavenly King proposed a wager on Yuanshi Tianzun; the Marshal accepted.
• Zhang Yuanqing found a signboard listing dangers in the Forbidden Forest, including a warning never to answer when someone called his name.
• After Zhang Yuanqing and Blood Rose continued through the forest, a voice called, “Yuanshi Tianzun, Yuanshi Tianzun.”

Zhang Yuanqing entered the forest, avoided answering a mysterious voice, and disguised himself as Wang Tai while exploring the dangers of the mountains. A lost traveler told him about a trapped city and a deadly expedition, then revealed he knew nothing about the warning sign Zhang Yuanqing had seen.

• Zhang Yuanqing ignored a voice calling his name and continued through the forest until it stopped.
• The leaderboard reported three deaths, and Zhang Yuanqing suspected I Alone Reign Supreme had earned nine points by killing them.
• Zhang Yuanqing used the Disguise Ring to take on Wang Tai's ordinary appearance.
• Zhang Yuanqing met a middle-aged traveler and avoided looking him in the eyes while asking about the mountains.
• The traveler described a city trapped by newly appeared mountains and an expedition member who vanished after hearing his dead mother's voice.
• The traveler recounted finding a human face on a tree, then said he knew nothing about the warning sign Zhang Yuanqing had seen.

Zhang Yuanqing learned more about the forest’s dangers, joined forces with Peony Fairy, and deduced that the dungeon’s differing signpost warnings might be clues or weapons. After realizing he had violated a warning by speaking with a Lost City hiker, he went to investigate a nearby fight and heard someone threaten a Japanese high school girl.

• A Lost City hiker told Zhang Yuanqing that man-eating trees and monkeys had attacked his team, then warned him to beware of both.
• Zhang Yuanqing and Blood Rose killed attacking mountain monkeys, earning points before the rest of the troop fled.
• Zhang Yuanqing met Peony Fairy, agreed to travel with her, and learned about the powerful Monkey King and the different warnings on their signposts.
• Zhang Yuanqing proposed that the warnings differed between people and could be gathered or used to trap enemies; Peony Fairy also shared that monkeys had mentioned humans approaching something in the forest.
• Peony Fairy revealed a warning not to speak with Lost City hikers, and Zhang Yuanqing admitted he had already spoken with one.
• After learning that only 174 Spirit Realm Walkers remained, Zhang Yuanqing went invisibly to investigate a nearby fight and heard a man threaten a Japanese high school girl.

Zhang Yuanqing ambushed and killed three Evil Profession walkers during a deadly encounter with tree demons, then checked the rankings and collected their lingering souls. He began devouring the souls to learn what they knew about the dungeon’s precautions and possible faction choices, but the foreign memories threatened to overwhelm his sense of self.

• Asano Ryo used shikigami to break free of an illusion, fled from the three attackers, and triggered the tree demons’ attack on everyone nearby.
• Zhang Yuanqing killed the Illusionist, while Blood Rose killed the Cockroach Man; Zhang Yuanqing then used possession and the tree demons to help kill the Bewitching Demon.
• Zhang Yuanqing chose not to burn or chop down the tree demons, escaped their encirclement, and carried the three victims’ lingering souls away while leaving Asano Ryo behind.
• Zhang Yuanqing checked the rankings, noted his own and Guan Ya’s positions, and suspected that many high-ranking walkers had chosen the Lost City faction.
• Zhang Yuanqing devoured the five lingering souls to search their memories for dungeon precautions, but the influx of foreign memories made his sense of self waver.

Zhang Yuanqing tested his limits for absorbing spiritual bodies, rescued Asano Ryo from tree demons, and forced her to guide him toward the forest’s central signboard. Meanwhile, other contestants puzzled over Yuanshi Tianzun’s low ranking and debated the contradictory signboard notices as the dungeon’s factions and dangers remained unclear.

• Zhang Yuanqing learned that absorbing five spiritual bodies at once was his limit and discovered new signboard notices warning about mushrooms, fruit, and mountain ghosts.
• Zhang Yuanqing questioned Asano Ryo, learned about her family and the island nation’s Spirit Realm Walkers, then rescued her from tree demons and made her his guide.
• No Taboos and A Yi’s group mocked Yuanshi Tianzun’s low ranking, while No Taboos defended his reputation; Nine-Leak Fish also suspected the ranking was abnormal.
• Zhao Chenghuang fought I Alone Reign Supreme as Sun Miaomiao, the Maoshan Sorcerer, and Yuan Ting watched and wondered why Yuanshi Tianzun had so few points.
• My Fate Is Mine, Not Heaven's exchanged theories about the signboards with All Under Heaven Returns to Fire and Music Idiot, while Zhang Yuanqing traveled with Asano Ryo, Peony Fairy, and another companion toward the central signboard.

Zhang Yuanqing and the other contestants reached the blank signboard marking the central forest, but an invisible barrier blocked them because they had not met the entry requirements. After five hours, the dungeon announced that the slaughter of the forest spirits had awakened Tree King Su and ordered all survivors to flee into the middle of the forest.

• Zhang Yuanqing traveled with Peony Fairy and Asano Ryo, warned Asano not to answer a voice calling her from behind, and reached a blank signboard in the forest.
• Asano Ryo and Zhang Yuanqing tried to cross into the central forest but struck an invisible barrier and received a notice that they had not met the requirements for the next stage.
• Zhang Yuanqing decided to wait for the time limit and for other contestants to arrive, while No Taboos, All Under Heaven Returns to Fire, and Kou Beiyue's groups also failed to enter.
• Spirit Realm Walkers gathered near the barrier and discussed the unknown requirements, noting that even All Under Heaven Returns to Fire could not pass.
• When five hours elapsed, all 120 surviving contestants learned that their slaughter had awakened Tree King Su and were ordered to flee into the middle of the forest.

The Tree King attacked Spirit Realm Walkers who had killed tree demons, while Asano Ryo revealed her powerful ice technique to survive its assault. As the survivors gathered to fight the Tree King, Zhang Yuanqing used Spirit Inquiry to uncover a new precaution and began piecing together how to enter the forest’s middle layer.

• The Tree King summoned its vines and awakened nearby tree demons, but Asano Ryo used Frost Descends to freeze the vines and the surrounding forest before collapsing from exhaustion.
• Zhang Yuanqing learned that Asano Ryo could use Frost Descends only three times a day, and he and Peony Fairy realized that both the Tree King and the Monkey King might retaliate against those who killed their kin.
• After the Tree King's attacks killed more Spirit Realm Walkers, Peeping at Abalone Through a Tube gathered independent cultivators, officials, Evil Professions, and foreign Walkers to join Zhao Chenghuang and A Yi in fighting the boss.
• All Under Heaven Returns to Fire refused to join the assault, arguing that the Walkers should instead figure out how to enter the middle of the forest and solve the dungeon's storyline.
• Zhang Yuanqing used Spirit Inquiry on several corpses and learned a new precaution stating that monkeys guarded the forest and lived in jungles filled with wild fruit.
• Zhang Yuanqing formed a hypothesis about entering the second stage as Walkers from both factions struggled toward the Tree King's location.

Zhang Yuanqing discovered that eating berries from the monkeys’ territory changed his faction to Mountain God and let him enter the middle of the forest, while the gathered Spirit Realm Walkers fought the Tree King. The Tree King revived after Nine-Leak Fish struck its heart, and as night fell, Zhang Yuanqing called the official Walkers to assemble.

• Zhang Yuanqing reasoned that entering the second stage required choosing a faction and tested whether picking and eating the monkeys’ berries could change his allegiance.
• Zhang Yuanqing sent Little Doubi to steal berries, ate one himself, and passed through the barrier into the middle of the forest, earning quest rewards and the Mountain God faction.
• Ninety-six Spirit Realm Walkers gathered beneath the Tree King, and their coordinated attacks let Nine-Leak Fish stab its heart after Zhang Yuanqing had left.
• The Tree King revived, the Monkey King grew enraged, and nightfall warnings announced that mountain ghosts were about to appear.
• Asano Ryo recovered after eating Zhang Yuanqing’s berries, and Peony Fairy warned that the Five Elements Alliance’s colleagues were in danger.
• Zhang Yuanqing’s shout rang across the forest: “I am Yuanshi Tianzun! All official Walkers, gather here!”

Yuanshi Tianzun revealed how to enter the Mountain God faction’s second stage by eating a red fruit, then gathered the official Walkers and other Orderly allies. He rescued Guan Ya from a trap and brought her to the signboard, where they entered the middle forest and received a new team-formation mission.

• Yuanshi Tianzun called for the official Walkers, and the leaderboard revealed that he had gained 120 points by completing a side quest.
• Jiang Jingwei and the other official Walkers followed Yuanshi Tianzun’s call, and he showed them that red fruit let them cross into the middle forest and earn 20 points.
• Yuanshi Tianzun told Zhao Chenghuang to admit Orderly Walkers but kill any Evil Professions who approached, then left to find Guan Ya.
• Guan Ya was trapped among tree demons after poisoned spikes and the Fearless One’s Rifle’s misfortune left her unable to move, but Yuanshi Tianzun cut the vines and rescued her.
• Yuanshi Tianzun lent Guan Ya a powerful equipment set, and she discovered its price made her go into heat and answer questions truthfully.
• Yuanshi Tianzun gave Guan Ya a red fruit, and they crossed into the middle forest together before receiving a mission to form a team.

Zhang Yuanqing led a team into the Maze Forest to protect the Mountain God Scepter, while other teams spread out to reduce the risk of disaster. After the forest’s fog appeared, a Wood Demon girl was suddenly killed, leaving the team unaware of what had attacked her.

• Zhang Yuanqing learned that the team’s mission was to protect the Mountain God Temple and warned the group that the mountain paths held Saint-level dangers.
• Kou Beiyue and the chubby fellow found discarded red fruits, but a notification told them the Tree King had already fallen and ordered them to help eliminate the monkey troop.
• Zhang Yuanqing led fifteen Orderly Profession members through the forest and began climbing the mountain path after the group rested in a hollow.
• The team followed the maze map on foot, while Zhang Yuanqing’s attempt to fly above the trees and the Wood Demon’s attempt to communicate with them both failed.
• A dense fog covered the path, and a Wood Demon girl was found dead with her head severed before she could use her Revive skill.

Zhang Yuanqing’s group faced an invisible attacker in Maze Forest’s dense fog, and he realized the danger was a Bewitching Demon’s power that tracked movement through the mist. Meanwhile, Zhao Chenghuang’s group encountered a bewitched corpse, leaving only five of them conscious and facing their possessed companions.

• Zhang Yuanqing investigated Ai Ai’s sudden decapitation, but Spirit Inquiry revealed that she had not known what killed her.
• After Rain Girl Has No Melon survived a similar unseen attack, Zhang Yuanqing inferred that the attacker struck every five minutes and ordered his group to stop moving and hold their breath.
• When no one was attacked during the next interval, Zhang Yuanqing’s group confirmed that remaining still had kept all fourteen members alive.
• Zhao Chenghuang’s group found a hanging Mountaineer corpse whose Bewitching Eye incapacitated most of the team and left five members to restrain their bewitched companions.

Zhang Yuanqing’s team crossed the Fog Spider Territory by stopping whenever the Fog Master’s mist could detect them, then learned that the evil camp had surged ahead in points and entered the maze behind them. The chapter left both camps on the same route, with Zhang Yuanqing’s team unable to ambush their pursuers because of the positioning function.

• Zhang Yuanqing identified the evil cultivator’s power as that of a Fog Master and told the team to walk for four minutes, then freeze for one.
• During a stop, Zhang Yuanqing used Spirit Roaming to spot a fog spider that killed with nearly invisible threads, but it vanished when he tried to seize it.
• Zhang Yuanqing’s team left the Fog Spider Territory and received points and a Fog Spider’s Reward consumable.
• The team saw that evil Walkers dominated the leaderboard, and Zhang Yuanqing rallied his teammates by promising to get them into the top twenty.
• Zhao Chenghuang dispelled a corpse shrouded in resentment, collected a Bewitching Demon’s Eye, and ordered Life Essence given to two injured Five Elements Alliance members.
• The Mountain Ghost Camp reached the Maze Forest and appeared on the team’s map along the same route, prompting Guan Ya to suggest an ambush that Zhang Yuanqing said the positioning function made impossible.

Zhang Yuanqing separated his spirit from his body and set a poisoned spike trap, planning to ambush the evil faction with Mist Spider. He trapped the pursuing group but discovered that the top Illusionists had anticipated his attack and surrounded him.

• Jiang Jingwei proposed that the team stay and fight the evil faction, but Zhang Yuanqing rejected the plan and considered All Under Heaven Returns to Fire’s suggestions.
• Guan Ya proposed using Mist Spider against the evil faction’s spirit bodies, and Zhang Yuanqing confirmed that the location cursor tracked physical bodies.
• Zhang Yuanqing left Guan Ya with Little Doubi, sent his spirit to hide with Ghost Bride, and set poisoned spike traps along the path.
• Guan Ya asked Asano Ryo to protect her as the group continued through the maze, while Zhang Yuanqing watched the enemy markers approach the fog’s exit.
• When the evil faction emerged from the fog, Zhang Yuanqing triggered Mist Spider and attacked A Yi, but his target vanished as an illusion.
• A Good Minister Chooses a Lord to Slay, My Fate Is Mine, Not Heaven’s, Human Nature Is Evil, and five others surrounded Zhang Yuanqing and Ghost Bride.

Zhang Yuanqing escaped an ambush by the evil faction after killing Human Nature Is Evil, then rejoined his team and discussed the suspected traitor. As the group entered the Forest of Reproduction, the Walkers’ chests began to swell, leaving everyone stunned.

• The Ghost Bride disrupted the Illusionists’ attacks, and Zhang Yuanqing recovered his strength with moonlight before killing Human Nature Is Evil and fleeing with Blood Rose.
• Kou Beiyue intercepted A Yi long enough for Zhang Yuanqing and Blood Rose to escape, while the evil faction’s Walkers discovered that Human Nature Is Evil had died.
• Zhang Yuanqing returned to Guan Ya’s group, and All Under Heaven Returns to Fire warned him that The Little Match Boy had been touching trees along the route.
• Guan Ya suspected All Under Heaven Returns to Fire was the mole and reasoned that he had tried to shift suspicion onto The Little Match Boy.
• The group received a warning upon entering the Forest of Reproduction, where the women’s and then the men’s chests began swelling dramatically.

Zhang Yuanqing used the Demon Subduing Pestle to suppress the parasitic spores attacking his team as they crossed Reproduction Forest, then led them into Moving Forest. The rulers watching the slaughter instance noticed his power, while a golden streak approached them through the starry sky.

• The spores caused the team's chests to swell and began consuming their life force, killing an Earth Monster and severely harming a Fire Master.
• Cattle-Pen Mountain Little Fairy identified the threat as spores, and All Under Heaven Returns to Fire found that Fire Masters could temporarily suppress them with fire-element spiritual power.
• Zhang Yuanqing used the Demon Subduing Pestle's Solar Power to reduce the swelling and treat the team, repeating the purification as they traveled through Reproduction Forest.
• The team received ten points for passing through Reproduction Forest, and Guan Ya obtained the Frenzied Reproductive Spores consumable.
• Long Live White Tiger warned that another crisis likely awaited near the route's exit, and the team entered Moving Forest.
• The rulers saw Zhang Yuanqing wield the Demon Subduing Pestle, and a golden streak approached the Female Marshal, the Fear Heavenly King, the president, and the cult leader.