Chapter Summaries

Old Gu and the nine-foot giant revealed their demonic forms and fought Tie Lan and Lu Qing in the collapsing strata. After Lu Qing and Tie Lan coordinated a counterattack, a sudden wound to the giant and an eruption of magma disrupted the demons’ assault.

• The Shadow Ghost identified Old Gu’s transformed form as a Gu Diao, while Lu Qing suspected the two enemies had come from the Six Barbarian Mountains.
• The nine-foot giant and Old Gu combined their demonic auras to attack Tie Lan, but Lu Qing disrupted their connection and helped Tie Lan escape the first strike.
• Lu Qing used Chaotic Collapse Strike with Tie Lan’s sword assault to counter the two demons, and they exchanged several fierce clashes across the collapsing strata.
• The nine-foot giant exploited a coordination error to charge Lu Qing, but a sudden attack wounded his shoulder as magma erupted and damaged Old Gu’s water vapor.
• Tie Lan and Lu Qing regrouped and restored their formation after the delays disrupted the demons’ assault.

Yu Ci used carefully timed talismans and remote interference to disrupt the battle between Lu Qing, Tie Lan, and the two great demons, helping the allies recover their coordination. As the nine-foot giant escalated its cultivation and recognized the Primordial Formless Sword, the Shadow Ghost urgently warned Yu Ci to stop.

• Yu Ci drew magma into the battlefield and struck the nine-foot giant with a God Slaying Thorn, forcing the demons to resume fighting in the oppressive heat.
• Yu Ci used a Grand Unity Star Pivot Clone and paired Heavenly River Auspicious Prayer Curses to help Lu Qing and Tie Lan coordinate despite Tie Lan's clones.
• Yu Ci continued disrupting the demons' rhythm with precisely timed talismans, while his divided consciousness gave him several viewpoints on the battle.
• The nine-foot giant raised its cultivation and pressured Lu Qing, but Yu Ci's Sword Qi delayed its attack.
• The nine-foot giant recognized the Primordial Formless Sword, and the Shadow Ghost shouted for Yu Ci to stop.

Yu Ci used talismans, illusions, and swordplay to evade the nine-foot giant and give Tie Lan and Lu Qing openings to close in. After the giant struck him, Lu Qing’s attack and a sudden blade at the back of its head caught it off guard.

• The nine-foot giant abandoned its fight with Tie Lan and Lu Qing and charged after Yu Ci, while Lu Qing struggled to intercept it.
• Yu Ci used Water Strike Three Thousand Miles to turn magma against Gu Diao, giving Tie Lan a chance to break free with her Demon Slaying Sword.
• Yu Ci slowed the giant with an Earth-to-Steel Talisman, then scattered Grand Unity Star Pivot Clones to confuse its pursuit.
• The giant destroyed most of the clones with a shockwave, caught up to Yu Ci, and punched him more than a li away after he deflected part of the blow with his sword.
• As the giant prepared to attack again, Lu Qing’s pale, semi-ethereal weapon threatened it from one side, while a sharp edge suddenly pierced the back of its head.

Lu Qing and his allies wounded the nine-foot-tall brute with the Utmost Yin Blood Transformation Blade, forcing it to flee while Gu Diao covered its escape. Lu Qing’s blood-soaked weapon pursued Gu Diao, but the Shadow Ghost sensed another danger as a natal divine ability was unleashed.

• The nine-foot-tall brute mistook Lu Qing’s God Slaying Thorn for a lethal attack, then realized the other weapons and sonic techniques were disrupting its defenses.
• Lu Qing revealed Stepping Void cultivation through the Heavenly Demon Soul Splitting Incarnation and combined attacks with Tie Lan’s twin-hooked cables to disrupt the brute’s meridians.
• Lu Qing’s white silk ribbon blade pierced the brute’s chest, drained its blood, and poisoned it, but the brute tore free and escaped upward with wings sprouting from its back.
• Gu Diao covered the brute’s retreat from Tie Lan, then fled when Lu Qing’s blood-red ribbon pursued and pierced it.
• The Shadow Ghost identified Lu Qing’s weapon as the Demonic Sect’s Utmost Yin Blood Transformation Blade and warned everyone to dodge a natal divine ability.

Yu Ci survived Gu Diao’s feather attack but was left with a poisoned, badly injured leg, while Lu Qing offered him shelter after revealing more of her hidden cultivation. As Yu Ci and Shadow Ghost discussed the demons’ ties to Hao Dian, Gu Diao’s apparently lifeless body flew past with Tie Lan beside it.

• Yu Ci dodged most of Gu Diao’s barrier-piercing feathers, but several struck his left leg, and he used the Heavenly River Auspicious Prayer Curse to suppress their poison.
• Lu Qing offered to help Yu Ci and apologized when he confronted her about her concealed Void Stepping cultivation.
• Yu Ci chose not to question Lu Qing about her demonic techniques and accepted her offer to find a place to rest.
• Yu Ci recovered the Jade God Cave Spirit Seal and discussed Qiongqi, Hao Dian, and the Hundred Spirits Manifesting Gauze with Shadow Ghost.
• Yu Ci spotted Gu Diao’s seemingly lifeless body flying through the strata, driven by Tie Lan.

Yu Ci and Lu Qing examined Gu Diao's corpse and recovered its inner core, but learned it could not cure the poison. Qiongqi was expected to recover from the Blood Transformation Curse in about a month, leaving Yu Ci to prepare for its return while helping Tie Lan recover.

• Tie Lan returned with Gu Diao's corpse, and Shadow Ghost explained that the Supreme Yin Blood Transformation Blade had killed the great demon by draining its vitality and poisoning its blood.
• At Lu Qing's suggestion, Tie Lan opened Gu Diao's skull and retrieved its inner core, which Shadow Ghost identified as powerful artifact material but too tainted to detoxify poison.
• Lu Qing declined the inner core, and Yu Ci considered keeping it despite the risk of Qiongqi seeking revenge.
• Lu Qing estimated that Qiongqi would need about a month to purge the Blood Transformation Curse, and Yu Ci worried it would come after him once it recovered.
• Yu Ci asked Tie Lan to help him stand and promised to embed the Iron Soul Returning Spirit Pearl in the Seven Stars Altar of Footwork to help Tie Lan absorb yin energy.

After helping Lu Qing defeat the Gu Diao, Yu Ci rested in her old lava grotto and discussed the demon’s inner core and the Blood-Melting Saber with her. He then sensed Ling Xi Wanderer stirring ten thousand miles away and realized Black Robe was forcing him awake, leaving Yu Ci with several urgent problems and little time.

• Yu Ci and Lu Qing returned to her old lava grotto, where he offered to buy the Gu Diao’s inner core after they reached a major city.
• Yu Ci accidentally revealed that he knew the Blood-Melting Saber, and Lu Qing said she had acquired the evil weapon and demonic techniques by chance.
• Yu Ci began checking his talisman scripture for a way to counter the Gu Diao’s poison, then suddenly sensed Ling Xi Wanderer stirring from ten thousand miles away.
• Yu Ci and Shadow Ghost concluded that Black Robe had violently disturbed Ling Xi Wanderer, who briefly stirred before falling back into a coma.
• Yu Ci considered the poison, Ling Xi Wanderer, Qiongqi, and his own lifespan, and recognized that time was running short.

Yu Ci struggled to devise a way to cure the Gu Diao’s poison before it permanently damaged his leg, and spent three days preparing a powerful earth-based talisman. Lu Qing returned with a mysterious crimson stone that seemed to contain water, leaving Yu Ci stunned.

• Yu Ci found that the Returning True Purple Smoke slowed his injury but could not remove the poison quickly enough, while the talismans that might work were too demanding to use at once.
• Yu Ci reinforced and tested the Earth Deity Profound Virtue Divine Talisman’s pattern, using Fusheng Grass seeds and spiritual liquid to strengthen its foundation.
• Yu Ci realized Lu Qing had been gone for an hour and struggled to work without her quiet assistance, while Shadow Ghost warned him not to trust her too readily.
• Lu Qing returned and told Yu Ci to pause his work, then placed a large, charred-looking stone on the ground.
• Yu Ci recognized the stone as Mysterious Water Obsidian and was dumbfounded.

Yu Ci learned that Lu Qing had found Mysterious Water Obsidian and used her abilities to reproduce his talisman array on it. After Lu Qing urged him to seek treatment for his Gu Diao poison in Huayan City, Yu Ci agreed to travel with her aboard the Clear Sky Gang Thunder Boat and prepared to disguise himself.

• Lu Qing told Yu Ci that she had found a large deposit of Mysterious Water Obsidian about four hundred miles away, and Yu Ci confirmed the nearby stone was genuine.
• Lu Qing warned Yu Ci about the Qiongqi threat and urged him to seek medical help for his poisoning at the Evergreen Gate in Huayan City.
• Lu Qing brought out the Clear Sky Gang Thunder Boat and explained that she could fly it about twenty thousand miles a day, reaching Huayan City in four or five days.
• Lu Qing used her Soul Splitting Incarnation technique to copy Yu Ci's completed talisman array and its spiritual energy onto the Mysterious Water Obsidian.
• Yu Ci thanked Lu Qing, shaved off his beard with the Seven Star Sword, and introduced himself as a casual cultivator before their journey.

Wang An struggled to protect Three Families Market’s Floating Cloud Ship as Sand Bandits raided it above the Black Sandstorm. Just as the core fighters threatened the cargo holds, a lightning-wreathed craft burst into the sky and killed an attacking bandit, giving Wang An new hope.

• Wang An ordered the Floating Cloud Ship to descend into the Black Sandstorm to drive off the looters, damaging the vessel in the process.
• Sand Bandit Core Formation fighters attacked the ship’s guards and cargo holds while Wang An worried about the valuable beast skull among the goods.
• Two returning Sand Bandits pressed toward the cargo hold, worsening the fight as You Rui remained calmly detached.
• A craft surrounded by purple lightning burst through the Black Sandstorm, and its lightning killed a Sand Bandit who attacked it.
• Wang An rejoiced at the arrival of the lightning-wreathed craft.

Yu Ci and Lu Qing fled a flying armored demon dragon in the Clear Sky Gang Thunder Boat and prepared to descend near a populated city. Yu Ci realized the pursuing beast could unleash a sandstorm on the city and considered turning back to kill it.

• The flying armored demon dragon smashed into Wang An's floating cloud ship while chasing the Clear Sky Gang Thunder Boat, and You Rui urged Wang An to focus on saving the damaged vessel.
• Yu Ci learned from Lu Qing that they had passed sand bandits robbing a Three Families Market airship and continued working on his talismans and altar materials during the journey.
• Lu Qing decided to descend underground to escape the flying armored demon dragon, which could not enter the earth.
• Lu Qing spotted a city below and steered the flying boat past its defensive array as they prepared to dive underground.
• Yu Ci sensed that tens of thousands of people lived in the city and proposed turning back to kill the demon dragon before it endangered them.

Yu Ci and Lu Qing killed a Flying Armored Demon Dragon attacking a Northern Wasteland city, then escaped underground and reached the busy passage leading toward Huayan City. They ended at a brightly lit underground thoroughfare, still some distance from the city.

• Yu Ci and Lu Qing prepared to fight the Flying Armored Demon Dragon as it pursued them toward a city.
• A loose-haired man tried to bind the demon dragon with multicolored threads, but the beast broke free and left him trapped outside the defensive array.
• Yu Ci struck the demon dragon with the Primordial Formless Sword and God Slaying Thorn, while Lu Qing pinned it with her Fist Intent and lightning-powered punch, killing it.
• Yu Ci collected the beast's resentful spirit with the Taiyin Banner as the loose-haired man argued with the city's residents and fled underground.
• Yu Ci and Lu Qing escaped underground and arrived at the well-lit, carriage-filled passage leading toward Huayan City.

Yu Ci and Lu Qing traveled toward Huayan City, where Lu Qing explained the widespread use and dangers of Ghost Prison Powder. They passed a ghost cultivator checkpoint and reached the city entrance, with Lu Qing revealing how the powder helped drive the region’s ghost-cultivation trade.

• Lu Qing explained that Huayan City consisted of many settlements and pushed Yu Ci’s wooden cart as they traveled.
• A group of Ghost Prison Powder users crashed into a lizard carriage, then danced and sang in a delirious frenzy; Lu Qing described the powder’s effects and risks.
• A ghost cultivator stopped Yu Ci and Lu Qing, asked where they were from, and let them pass after Lu Qing explained they were seeking treatment at Evergreen Gate.
• Lu Qing told Yu Ci that Huayan City was a major center for ghost cultivators and that Ghost Prison Powder could stimulate yin-spirit cultivation, enabling some to convert to the ghost path.
• Yu Ci learned that Ghost Prison Powder was widely used across the Northern Wasteland and that Evergreen Gate controlled part of its trade as they arrived at Huayan City’s checkpoint.

Wang An sought help repairing the Floating Cloud Ship, while You Rui browsed Three Families Market and noticed Yu Ci inspecting a valuable item. The chapter ended with You Rui and Yu Ci both asking about the same Yin Ore.

• Wang An met You Rui at Three Families Market, then secured shipwrights from the Left Manager to repair the Floating Cloud Ship.
• The Left Manager told Wang An that You Rui had checked market registrations and gone to browse Baichuan Market.
• You Rui's guard broke the wrist of a man who reached for You Rui's foot, and market guards dragged him away.
• Yu Ci and Lu Qing arranged an appointment with Mr. Qingsong to treat Yu Ci's legs and then went to Three Families Market to shop for treatment materials.
• You Rui and Yu Ci both asked a vendor about the same Yin Ore.

At a Baichuan Market stall, Yu Ci and You Rui competed for a Yin ore until Lu Qing exposed the ghost cultivator’s illness and offered it a cure. Yu Ci then withdrew from the transaction, leaving the ghost cultivator caught between two valuable offers.

• You Rui joined Yu Ci at the stall and asked the ghost cultivator how much it wanted for the Yin ore.
• Yu Ci introduced himself to You Rui as Lu Dun, and the ghost cultivator said it wanted to trade for ghost-path cultivation texts.
• You Rui offered the ghost cultivator a remnant of the Impermanence Method Explanation, which could let it cultivate to Manifesting Shadow Under the Sun.
• Lu Qing diagnosed the ghost cultivator’s Yin Fire Tribulation and offered it a Yin Luo Pill to reshape its ghost body.
• The ghost cultivator hesitated between taking the pill and the cultivation method, and You Rui moved to retrieve the jade slip.
• Yu Ci said they no longer wanted the Yin ore.

Yu Ci cured the ghost cultivator stall owner’s Yin Fire Tribulation with his Taiyin Refinement Method, revealing his power as a talisman cultivator and drawing attention in Baichuan Market. As Yu Ci and Lu Qing left, You Rui rejected the stall owner’s renewed offering, while the grateful ghost cultivator fled with its Yin ore and the Impermanence Method Explanation.

• Yu Ci quoted an elder’s advice about the rarity of obtaining a cultivation method, then urged the stall owner to settle accounts with You Rui.
• Yu Ci drew the ghost cultivator stall owner into his sleeve with a talisman and used the Taiyin Refinement Method to eliminate its Yin Fire without lowering its rank.
• Lu Qing contained the crowd’s reaction while Yu Ci returned the cured stall owner, and onlookers recognized that he had refined its yin body.
• Lu Qing warned Yu Ci that offering kindness indiscriminately could bring trouble, and Yu Ci agreed that they needed to protect their identities.
• The stall owner offered the jade slip to You Rui again, but You Rui ignored it and left; the stall owner took its Yin ore and the Impermanence Method Explanation and fled.

Yu Ci and Lu Qing bought a damaged Ghost Night Stele while exploring Huayan City, and Cai Xuan invited them to search the Graveyard of Grudges. After the grateful ghost cultivator returned with the Yin Ore, Yu Ci extracted a tiny object from it and handed the ore back.

• Lu Qing stopped at a stall to examine a damaged stele bearing the words "Ghost Night," and explained that it was Huayan City's old name.
• Cai Xuan approached Yu Ci and Lu Qing, introduced himself, and invited them to dig for treasures in the Graveyard of Grudges.
• Yu Ci declined Cai Xuan's invitation, and he and Lu Qing bought the stele before continuing through the market.
• The ghost cultivator knelt before Yu Ci and offered him the Yin Ore in gratitude, but Yu Ci initially refused to take it.
• Yu Ci took the ore, used his Sword Qi to pry a soybean-sized object from it, and returned the ore to the ghost cultivator.
• A bystander asked whether Yu Ci would sell the beetle he had extracted.

Yu Ci returned the Yin Ore and a message to You Rui, then learned that Zhao Fang belonged to the Tianfa Ling Sect and was a fellow disciple of Fan Ping. After Zhao Fang examined Yu Ci’s demonic poison, he introduced him to Cai Xuan, whose connection to the Haoran Sect surprised Yu Ci.

• Yu Ci gave the ghost cultivator the Yin Ore and a jade slip for You Rui to deliver through a market steward.
• Yu Ci met Zhao Fang of the Tianfa Ling Sect and discovered that Fan Ping was Zhao Fang’s fellow grand-disciple.
• Yu Ci and Zhao Fang talked about the Tianfa Ling Sect, Fan Ping, and the fierce beasts and spirit birds of different regions.
• Zhao Fang examined Yu Ci’s injuries, identified the demonic poison, and admitted he could not cure it.
• Zhao Fang called over Cai Xuan, whom Yu Ci had recently met, and revealed that Cai Xuan was an inner-sect disciple of the Haoran Sect.

Yu Ci and Lu Qing went to the Evergreen Gate’s camp near the Graveyard of Grudges for Yu Ci’s consultation with Mr. Qingsong. There, Yu Ci saw that the supposedly boundless graveyard was actually a vast subterranean forest, where cultivators were already fighting over its treasures.

• Yu Ci learned that Cai Xuan was a young disciple of the Haoran Sect and that he had invited Yu Ci to join his group exploring the Graveyard of Grudges.
• Zhao Fang explained that a newly discovered route led into the graveyard’s rarely visited depths and described the Qi Yin beetle’s ability to find yin-qi.
• Yu Ci and Lu Qing traveled to the Evergreen Gate’s temporary camp because Mr. Qingsong could not leave the tense situation near the graveyard.
• From the camp, Yu Ci saw the Graveyard of Grudges stretching into a vast subterranean forest filled with pale flames, towering forms, and signs of fighting.

Yu Ci consulted Mr. Qingsong about treating the demon poison in his leg but rejected the slow medicinal method and kept his suppression technique secret. An assassination attempt forced the Evergreen Gate to abandon its camp, and Yu Ci used the Zhaoshen Map to watch the retreat as he suspected something was amiss.

• Mr. Qingsong examined Yu Ci’s poisoned leg and described slow medicinal treatment and dangerous techniques as the two options.
• Mr. Qingsong offered to waive half the consultation fee for Yu Ci’s poison-suppression technique, but Yu Ci refused to share it.
• Yu Ci and Lu Qing returned to their temporary cave, where a blast and cries of an assassination attempt against Mr. Qingsong erupted nearby.
• Mr. Qingsong killed a death warrior who had attacked him with Spirit-Exploding Witch Dolls, then ordered the Evergreen Gate to retreat to Huayan.
• The Evergreen Gate abandoned the camp, and Yu Ci expanded the Zhaoshen Map to observe the retreat while suspecting something was wrong.