Chapter Summaries

After Xiaohuan divined that the Great Calamity would begin in the Huqi Mountains, Luo Yunji ordered Sanfu Town evacuated and prepared to face the danger alone. He sent Bi Yao and the others toward Azure Cloud Mountain while remaining at Two Mountains to watch over their home.

• Xiaohuan told Luo Yunji that her divination placed the start of the Great Calamity in the Huqi Mountains, though she was unsure it was accurate.
• Luo Yunji ordered Sanfu Town’s residents to leave, sending one group to the Imperial City and another to Big Bamboo Peak to warn the Prince and his master that the Great Calamity had not ended.
• Luo Yunji insisted that the Old General and Old Prime Minister leave, explaining that the Beast Demon disaster had only been a prelude to the true calamity.
• Luo Yunji stopped Bi Yao from confronting refugees who had moved into the empty homes and gave her a letter to deliver to Big Bamboo Peak.
• Luo Yunji told Wen Min and the other women to go to Azure Cloud Mountain with Bi Yao while he stayed behind to set up the Four Spirits Array near the people in seclusion.

Luo Yunji tried to protect Two Mountains and Sanfu Town as the blood-red barrier sealed off the Huqi Mountains. Yuyangzi arrived too late to prevent the calamity and left for Azure Cloud Mountain with a prophetic Golden Paper and Xiao Liu’s Crystal Tablet.

• Luo Yunji used the Taiji Liangyi Array and, with Long Zi and the other spirits, the Four Spirits Array to protect the Water Pool valley.
• The Huqi Mountains were sealed by a blood-red barrier, trapping Wen Min and others as well as townspeople from Sanfu Town; Luo Yunji brought the trapped residents to Two Mountains.
• Xiaobai and Mao Qiushi stayed behind, and Xiaobai urged Luo Yunji to focus on surviving the calamity.
• Yuyangzi reached the barrier and learned from Xiao Liu and the elders that Luo Yunji had evacuated people from Sanfu Town and Two Mountains, though some were trapped.
• Xiao Liu gave Yuyangzi a Crystal Tablet and directed him to take the Golden Paper to Tian Buyi at Azure Cloud Mountain.

Yuyangzi brought Tian Buyi the missing Golden Book pages and warned him that the Great Calamity had not ended, while Sanfu Town and the last evacuees were trapped behind a blood-colored barrier at Huqi Mountain. Tian Buyi told Daoxuan to mobilize the Azure Cloud Sect before they went to investigate.

• Tian Buyi received Zhou Yixian and Xiaohuan on Big Bamboo Peak as Yuyangzi arrived, exhausted and carrying a Wooden Box.
• Yuyangzi showed Tian Buyi the missing Golden Book pages and explained that Huqi Mountains were sealed behind a blood-colored barrier.
• Tian Buyi learned that Luo Yunji and the final group of evacuating townspeople were trapped inside Sanfu Town.
• Tian Buyi secretly informed Daoxuan that the Great Calamity had not ended and urged him to prepare the Azure Cloud Sect.
• Daoxuan agreed to meet with the branch heads, make preparations, and then go with Tian Buyi to Sanfu Town.

As the blood-red barrier sealed the Huqi Mountains and the calamity continued, Luo Yunji suspected the Ghost King Sect was responsible and worked to protect the trapped people of Sanfu Town. The chapter left Bi Yao unable to sleep, prompting her to quietly leave Two Mountains.

• Tian Buyi told Daoxuan he would handle Yun Ji's situation and left the study, while cultivators flocked to the Azure Cloud Sect after hearing the calamity had not ended.
• Luo Yunji stopped Bi Yao from returning to the Ghost King Sect, explaining to Li Qinghe and Zhao Yueyin that he suspected it was the source of the disaster.
• Luo Yunji and the others searched the blood-red barrier for several days but found no way through, and he held off on risking Spirit Mountain against it.
• Luo Yunji reassured Sanfu Town's remaining residents, and He Xiaowen volunteered to stay among the last to leave and help calm the townspeople.
• Bi Yao remained uneasy beneath the blood-red sky, rose quietly at night, and left Two Mountains.

Bi Yao discovered that gray figures were emerging from the Ghost King Sect disciples and escaped with the wounded Qinglong. At the same time, gray smoke reached Azure Cloud Sect, where the Parting Awl suddenly attacked Tian Buyi.

• Bi Yao arrived at the Ghost King Sect headquarters and found Qinglong, who secretly led her away from the silent compound.
• Bi Yao saw gray figures crawl out of the disciples’ bodies and watched countless more emerge as she and Qinglong fled.
• A smoke-shrouded figure in the Ghost King Sect sent three streams of gray smoke toward Azure Cloud Mountain and Two Mountains.
• Tian Buyi read He Dazhi’s account of Big Bamboo Peak’s past adventures while Daoxuan True Person entered the Illusion Moon Cave Abode and resolved to use the Zhu Xian Sword Array if necessary.
• A gray smoke snake entered the Black Bamboo Building, where the Parting Awl broke free and repeatedly attacked Tian Buyi.
• Tian Buyi ordered Tian Linger not to approach as Su Ru watched the Parting Awl attack without anyone controlling it.

The Parting Awl bewitched Tian Buyi, while the Zhu Xian Sword corrupted Daoxuan, and both men turned violent at Heaven-Reaching Peak. Su Ru and Shuiyue held them off as Xiao Yicai summoned reinforcements, leaving the two afflicted men locked in a fierce fight against the women.

• The Parting Awl took control of Tian Buyi, and Su Ru followed him as he rushed to Heaven-Reaching Peak for help.
• Daoxuan became possessed by gray smoke from the Zhu Xian Sword and attacked Xiao Yicai, but Tian Buyi intervened before the awl’s restraint broke.
• Tian Buyi turned on Xiao Yicai, and Su Ru arrived to order him to find Zeng Shuchang and Shuiyue while she held off the corrupted men.
• Xiao Yicai flew to Little Bamboo Peak and brought Shuiyue to the back of Jade Purity Hall.
• Zeng Shuchang and Xiao Yicai arrived to find Su Ru and Shuiyue battling Daoxuan and Tian Buyi, with Su Ru sending icicles at the two men.

Tian Buyi, Su Ru, and Daoxuan suppressed the out-of-control Parting Awl and Zhu Xian Sword, while Luo Yunji investigated the blood barrier trapping the Huqi Mountains. Strange Objects spread through the region and attacked Sanfu Town, prompting Luo Yunji to rush there.

• Tian Buyi broke free of the Parting Awl and knocked it and the Zhu Xian Sword away, allowing Daoxuan to regain control and suppress both treasures with the Heart-Clearing Mantra.
• Qinglong and Bi Yao told Luo Yunji that gray humanoid monsters had emerged near the Ghost King Sect, and he feared they were the Strange Objects he had seen before.
• Luo Yunji failed to find a way through the blood barrier and hesitated to retrieve the Four Talismans because doing so could endanger Song Daren and the others in seclusion.
• Strange Objects poured out from the Ghost King Sect, killing living beings across the Huqi Mountains and leaving Two Mountains and Sanfu Town as the only remaining places with survivors.
• Seven cultivators collapsed outside Sanfu Town and transformed into Strange Objects, but the townspeople shut the city gate before the creatures could enter.
• He Xiaowen sent word to Two Mountains, and Luo Yunji used Ultimate Footwork to arrive in Sanfu Town.

Luo Yunji destroyed the seven Strange Objects outside Sanfu Town, fortified the town, and learned that the monsters could infect people with gray smoke. After more than ten residents showed signs of exposure, he began isolating them and checking everyone who had been in contact with them.

• Luo Yunji killed the seven Strange Objects outside Sanfu Town with the Ghost Umbrella and purified their remaining gray smoke with Buddhist cultivation methods.
• Luo Yunji warned the residents that the monsters had appeared and ordered everyone to stay inside while he sought a way out.
• Luo Yunji found a vast group of Strange Objects near Sanfu Town, returned, dug a deep trench around the town, and set up defensive formations with the women from Two Mountains.
• A Strange Object emerged from a man's body in a Sanfu Town courtyard, and He Xiaowen summoned help after neighbors discovered it.
• Luo Yunji killed the monster, found claw marks on the man's skin, and warned He Xiaowen that gray smoke could transform the living.
• He Xiaowen found more than ten residents with gray smoke clinging to them, and Luo Yunji isolated them and inspected everyone who had been in contact with them.

Luo Yunji discovered a way to cure people infected by Gray Smoke, but an animal-borne outbreak overwhelmed Sanfu Town as the Gray Mist spread through the air. Exhausted from treating the infected, he held a child he could not save and continued telling him, “I’m here!”

• Luo Yunji stayed with the infected townspeople, discovered that Gray Smoke fed on life force, and cured patients by inducing suspended animation before purifying the weakened Smoke with Buddhist power.
• Gray Smoke spread through livestock and infected almost the entire town, while visible Gray Mist drifted through Sanfu Town and Luo Yunji and Wen Min struggled to keep up.
• The townspeople gathered around Luo Yunji, grateful for all he had done for them, as he continued treating patients without rest.
• Luo Yunji examined a five- or six-year-old child who asked to see the State Preceptor and promised to take him and the others to play once he recovered.
• The child convulsed and could not be saved; Luo Yunji held him and repeatedly answered, “I’m here,” while Wen Min comforted him and the townspeople watched in grief.

After a newly formed Strange Object wounded Luo Yunji, the people of Sanfu Town begged him to leave and tried to sacrifice themselves rather than burden him. He stopped them and fainted, and while he lay unconscious, more townspeople burned themselves to prevent their bodies from becoming Strange Objects.

• A child in Luo Yunji’s arms transformed into a Strange Object and stabbed him, but he killed and purified it.
• The townspeople formed human walls around Luo Yunji and pleaded with him to leave, saying they would not blame him.
• Luo Yunji killed another Strange Object after it injured several civilians, but the wounded knelt and asked him to accept their loyalty.
• One civilian threw himself into the spiritual fire, prompting others to follow; Luo Yunji finally agreed to their request and begged them to stop dying.
• Luo Yunji used a Water Ribbon to block the crowd, then fainted from his injuries and exhaustion.
• While Luo Yunji remained unconscious for a day and a night, townspeople burned themselves to keep their bodies from becoming Strange Objects.

Luo Yunji watched the people of Sanfu Town sacrifice themselves to escape the Gray Smoke, then accepted the Fierce Spirits they became as his subordinates. With the surviving townspeople, he activated Spirit Mountain’s formation and sent the mountain flying in a desperate attempt to escape.

• Wen Min stopped Luo Yunji from rushing into the flames and recorded the townspeople’s sacrifice in her journal.
• The people of Sanfu Town knelt before Luo Yunji, declared their loyalty, and walked into Spirit Fire as the Gray Smoke threatened their minds.
• The townspeople emerged from the flames as Fierce Spirits, and Luo Yunji accepted them as his subordinates, promising to share joy and hardship with them.
• After several days of rest, Luo Yunji asked the remaining townspeople to join him in trying to escape, and they vowed to follow him.
• Luo Yunji led the survivors into Spirit Mountain and activated its central formation, sending the mountain accelerating into the sky.

Luo Yunji helped Spirit Mountain break through the blood-red barrier, then chose to remain behind to save his senior brothers trapped at Two Mountains while sending the others to safety. As the calamity spread and devastated the surrounding lands, the emperor faced his sons in the Imperial City and ordered them to prepare for what came next.

• Luo Yunji and the people on Spirit Mountain broke through the blood-red light barrier, but Luo Yunji flew back inside to find his senior brothers at Two Mountains.
• Luo Yunji forced Cangsong, Wen Min, the commoners, and Bi Yao back onto Spirit Mountain as the barrier closed, telling Wen Min that Song Daren and the others might never awaken from the Death Barrier.
• The formation carried Spirit Mountain away, while Xiao Yicai reported that the Zhu Xian Sword had gone out of control and the others hurried off to respond.
• More than a month later, the Strange Objects escaped the barrier and slaughtered across the world, forcing survivors toward the Far North, the Azure Cloud Mountain Range, and the Imperial City's Forbidden Spirit Land.
• The First Prince asked the emperor to forgive him, but the emperor refused to repeat what had happened with Ming'er and ordered him to discuss the calamity with his younger brothers.

As the blood-colored barrier swallowed more territory, Luo Yunji warned the Four Spirits and infiltrated the Ghost King Sect Headquarters to investigate the calamity. He confronted a Gray Smoke-shrouded figure near the Ghost King's study, unaware that a shadow was attacking him from behind.

• Daoxuan and Tian Buyi were controlled by the Parting Awl and Zhu Xian Sword, then fled Azure Cloud Mountain before Su Ru and the others could stop them.
• Wen Min read Luo Yunji's letter explaining that Daoxuan and Tian Buyi were staging an internal conflict to ease other sects' suspicion of Azure Cloud Sect.
• Luo Yunji warned Long Zi and the Four Spirits that the Huqi Mountains were sealed by a blood-colored barrier and Strange Objects could assimilate anyone they touched.
• After sleeping for three days, Luo Yunji checked on Song Daren and the others, then entered the Ghost King Sect Headquarters to investigate the calamity.
• A Gray Smoke-shrouded figure blocked Luo Yunji outside the Ghost King's study and repelled him with dark energy.
• While Luo Yunji faced the figure, a ghostly shadow emerged from his own shadow and silently stabbed toward his back with a black-glinting sword.

Luo Yunji uncovered the identities and strange nature of the two figures at the Ghost King Sect, learning that Mr. Ghost was a dead soul who spoke of cultivators causing the world-ending calamity. As gray mist engulfed the mountain range, Luo Yunji fled with Mr. Ghost while the Smoke Snakes pursued them.

• Luo Yunji used Buddhist light and the Taiji Seal to expose the black shadow as Mr. Ghost and recognized the gray figure as the Ghost King.
• Mr. Ghost told Luo Yunji that humans seeking immortality had caused the calamity and that cultivators were its intended targets.
• Luo Yunji discovered that Mr. Ghost was already dead and existed only as a soul body.
• The gray figure unleashed a vast cloud of Gray Mist and sent Smoke Snakes after Luo Yunji and Mr. Ghost.
• Luo Yunji used the Ghost Umbrella to draw Mr. Ghost into the air and escaped the Ghost King Sect as the mist spread across the mountain range.

Luo Yunji learned that the Four Spirits Blood Array had unleashed Gray Mist that transformed the Ghost King Sect’s disciples into Strange Objects, and Mr. Ghost revealed an ancient text had named Luo Yunji as the hope against the calamity. After testing how Ghost Path power interacted with the blood-red barrier, Luo Yunji concluded that the calamity involved the collision of worlds and decided to escape with Song Daren and the others.

• Luo Yunji released Mr. Ghost in a cave and demanded an explanation for the Ghost King Sect’s destruction.
• Mr. Ghost explained that the Four Spirits Blood Array had drawn Gray Mist into the sect, turning its disciples into infectious Strange Objects, and that he had become a ghost to survive.
• Mr. Ghost said an ancient text had identified Luo Yunji as the hope of overcoming the world-ending calamity, and admitted he had tested Luo Yunji by ambushing him.
• Luo Yunji tried using Ghost Path techniques on the blood-red barrier and discovered that pure ghost power could pass through it.
• Luo Yunji suspected the calamity was a collision between worlds, feared the powerful being from the Underworld might be involved, and resolved to leave with Song Daren and the others.
• Mr. Ghost followed Luo Yunji back to the Two Mountains.

Luo Yunji carried a shrunken Small World out of the blood-red barrier with Mr. Ghost’s help and sent him to warn Big Bamboo Peak. Meanwhile, Tian Buyi sought a talisman to stop Daoxuan from being controlled by the Zhu Xian Sword, and Xiaohuan unexpectedly volunteered to draw it.

• Luo Yunji gathered the cave dwelling’s valuables for Mr. Ghost, then raised and shrank the array’s Small World despite his injuries.
• Daoyan appeared and warned Luo Yunji that it was a trap, but Black Silk dragged him away before he could explain.
• Luo Yunji asked Mr. Ghost to tell Big Bamboo Peak what had happened and said he would place the Small World in Bibo Pool on Heaven-Reaching Peak.
• Luo Yunji and Mr. Ghost used the Ghost Path to break through the blood-red barrier and race toward the horizon.
• Tian Buyi found a talisman in a book that Daoxuan thought might help, then asked Zhou Yixian to draw it.
• Xiaohuan volunteered to draw the talisman, surprising Zhou Yixian, who said he had never taught her talismans.

Tian Buyi and Daoxuan True Person staged their disappearance, leaving Su Ru and the others desperately searching for them. Zhou Yixian, Xiaohuan, and Wild Dog Daoist sought shelter for the night in a charity mortuary, where they discovered the missing men struggling with a coffin.

• Xiaohuan completed the talisman Tian Buyi had requested, and he told her to keep it secret from everyone, including Su Ru.
• News spread that Daoxuan True Person and Tian Buyi had fought and vanished, prompting Su Ru, Shuiyue, Zeng Shuchang, and the disciples to search for them.
• Zhou Yixian stopped Xiaohuan from telling Su Ru about Tian Buyi's talisman, and he and Xiaohuan left Big Bamboo Peak with Wild Dog Daoist as their escort.
• Unable to reach Heyang City before nightfall, Zhou Yixian led Xiaohuan and Wild Dog Daoist to the charity mortuary for shelter.
• The trio heard cries inside and found Daoxuan True Person trying to squeeze Tian Buyi into a coffin, while Tian Buyi complained that he was stuck.

Daoxuan and Tian Buyi prepared to fake Tian Buyi’s death, while Wen Min brought them medicine from Luo Yunji. Wen Min learned Tian Buyi planned to leave Azure Cloud Mountain, and her sorrowful reaction suggested Luo Yunji was in trouble.

• Daoxuan struggled to fit Tian Buyi into a coffin, eventually joining three coffins together while they traded insults.
• Wen Min arrived near Azure Cloud Mountain and learned from Xiaohuan that Tian Buyi was at the mortuary.
• Wen Min brought Luo Yunji’s letter and two bottles of fake-death medicine to Tian Buyi and Daoxuan.
• Tian Buyi told Wen Min to keep the antidote from his wife and explained that the plan had to remain secret.
• Wen Min asked whether Tian Buyi planned to leave Azure Cloud Mountain, and he confirmed he would go to Two Mountains to keep an eye on Luo Yunji.
• Wen Min looked sorrowful when Tian Buyi mentioned Luo Yunji, alerting Tian Buyi and Daoxuan that something was wrong.

Wen Min told Tian Buyi and Daoxuan what had happened in Sanfu Town, prompting Tian Buyi to rush his plan to reach Luo Yunji. After Tian Buyi and Daoxuan captured Zhou Yixian, Wild Dog Daoist, and Xiaohuan, Wen Min led Small Bamboo Peak’s disciples to the mortuary, where she uncovered a shocking coffin.

• Wen Min reported that Luo Yunji remained alone inside the blood-colored barrier, and Tian Buyi decided to take the medicine and head to Sanfu Town as soon as possible.
• Wen Min left for Big Bamboo Peak with the antidote and promised to look after her Shiniang while helping stage Tian Buyi’s fake death.
• Tian Buyi and Daoxuan confronted Zhou Yixian, Wild Dog Daoist, and Xiaohuan, misunderstood what they had overheard, and decided to imprison them.
• Tian Buyi knocked Wild Dog Daoist unconscious, and he and Daoxuan took the three away to be watched by Duan Ming.
• The next day, Wen Min brought Small Bamboo Peak’s disciples to the mortuary, where they found a deep pit beneath stacked coffins and opened a large coffin inside it.

After Tian Buyi’s body was brought to Big Bamboo Peak, Wen Min took charge while Su Ru fell into a confused, grieving state and Lin Jingyu and Tian Linger returned. As Azure Cloud Sect’s leaders gathered to mourn, Mr. Ghost appeared on Back Mountain with a message from Two Mountains, and Su Ru hurried him into the Cave Dwelling before the others arrived.

• Wen Min discovered Tian Buyi’s lifeless body in the coffin and summoned Su Ru, who fainted upon seeing him.
• Su Ru woke without remembering Tian Buyi’s death, while Shuiyue stayed with her and Wen Min went to manage the mourning arrangements.
• Lin Jingyu and Tian Linger returned after learning of Tian Buyi’s death, and Wen Min asked Lin Jingyu and Duan Ming to help oversee Big Bamboo Peak.
• The other branch chiefs and Xiao Yicai arrived to mourn Tian Buyi, while Qi Hao and Xiao Yicai discussed their concerns about Daoxuan and the Zhu Xian Sword.
• A powerful ghostly force appeared on Back Mountain, and Mr. Ghost told Su Ru he had brought a message from Two Mountains.
• As Shuiyue and the others rushed toward Back Mountain, Su Ru brought Mr. Ghost into the Cave Dwelling to speak privately.