Chapter Summaries

Fang Shu entered a demon tavern disguised as a furry creature and discovered that the demons had transformed captured humans into livestock. After killing three demons to pay for wine, he lost his disguise and revealed that he was human, sending the tavern into panic.

• Fang Shu arrived at a tavern where demons feasted, sold body parts, and kept three transformed humans tied up.
• Fang Shu learned from the old fox steward that demons used the Livestock-Making Method to disguise humans as animals.
• An old sheep tried to drink nearby urine to break its transformation, but the tavern staff restrained and bound it to a pillar.
• Fang Shu asked to buy wine with human hearts, then killed three demons with his tongue and took their hearts as payment.
• Blood caused Fang Shu's furry disguise to vanish, revealing his human appearance and terrifying the demons into fleeing.
• Fang Shu slapped the demon hearts onto the table and shouted for the shopkeeper to bring wine.

Fang Shu confronted the proprietor of a demon tavern, resisted its illusions, and slaughtered the monsters inside. He discovered that the gaunt tiger was the old fox steward in disguise and left the tavern’s deadly secret exposed.

• The gaunt tiger proprietor offered Fang Shu wine steeped with demon hearts and claimed the human captives were not truly human.
• Fang Shu attacked the proprietor, then fought through the tavern’s illusions and killed the monsters that crowded around him.
• Fang Shu saw a woman pleading for her child and stabbed through the bundle, breaking the tavern’s illusion and revealing its remains as a cliffside lair.
• Fang Shu recognized the woman as the tiger proprietor and killed it, then discovered the old fox steward had been hiding inside the tiger skin.
• Fang Shu checked the scattered bodies, avoided the poisonous bees released from the old fox, and remarked that the human heart was the most poisonous thing.

Fang Shu fed his Long-Tongue Sword with the heart's blood of slain monsters, then discovered a skin-changing spell among the remains of an old fox. He retreated to a cliffside cave to study it and found the fox corpse might provide material for a new magical skin, but a mysterious tablet fell from it.

• Fang Shu collected the monsters' heart's blood to temporarily satisfy his Long-Tongue Sword and ease its drain on his body.
• He found a spell written inside a tiger skin and left the bound pig-and-dog pair behind as he escaped the cliff with a Lightness Talisman.
• Fang Shu took shelter in a cave and learned that the tiger skin held the Fur-Shedding Skin-Changing Technique, though the hide was too damaged to use.
• He decided the old fox's corpse could serve as material for a skin-pouch magical implement and examined its hide.
• A tablet made of neither metal nor wood fell from the headless fox corpse.

Fang Shu used the Long-Tongue Sword’s blood to activate a strange plaque and successfully bound the Mountain-Sea Immortal Palace Outer Disciple Register to himself. The register transferred its powers to him before falling silent, leaving Fang Shu to absorb what had happened.

• Fang Shu examined the plaque’s strange writing and decided to test it with the Long-Tongue Sword’s essence and blood rather than risk his own life.
• The plaque absorbed the sword’s blood, recognized Fang Shu’s pure bloodline and soul, and completed its registration despite nearly tearing at his consciousness.
• The plaque transformed into characters that entered Fang Shu’s mind, revealing its identity and its functions of evil warding, recording, and analysis.
• The register permitted the Long-Tongue Sword to reconnect with Fang Shu after confirming it carried no evil aura, remnant soul, or impurity.
• The register announced that Dragon Qi had vanished, activated its supreme authorities through the Mountain-Sea Dao Seed Edict, and then fell silent.

Fang Shu used the Dao Register to analyze the Fur-Shedding Skin-Changing Technique and comprehended all thirteen Mystic Script characters in thirty-one days. He began preparing the old fox’s hide to refine into a magical artifact, while his shortened lifespan still urged him toward the immortal market.

• Fang Shu tested the Dao Register’s functions and learned that his lifespan was diminishing because of the Long-Tongue Sword, though it might be restored through recuperation.
• Fang Shu used the Register’s Analysis function on the tiger hide and learned it could analyze the Fur-Shedding Skin-Changing Technique’s Mystic Script.
• Fang Shu secluded himself in the cave and, with the Dao Register’s help, comprehended all thirteen Mystic Script characters in thirty-one days.
• Fang Shu decided to test whether his progress was real by cultivating the technique, then found that the old fox’s preserved corpse still held its demonic aura.
• Fang Shu skinned the old fox, removed its brain matter, and spread the prepared brain paste across the hide to begin tanning it for artifact refinement.

Fang Shu completed the fox-pelt artifact and used it to master the Fur-Shedding Skin-Changing Technique, gaining the ability to transform into a fox. After testing his new form and the artifact's powers, he left the cave and vanished into the mountain forest.

• Fang Shu checked that the blood-written Mystic Script on the fox pelt formed a proper restriction and reflected on the Three Essentials of Spellcasting.
• Fang Shu performed the final consecration, using his vital blood to activate the fox-pelt artifact and transform into a fox.
• Fang Shu tested his fox form, discovering heightened senses and that he could still use the Tongue Sword.
• Fang Shu removed the pelt to return to human form, then called it back as a fur hood and considered its future value and potential advancement.
• Fang Shu gathered his belongings, used the Lightness Talisman to leave the cave, transformed into a fox, and disappeared into the forest.

Fang Shu reached the outskirts of Mount Lu and came upon a weasel Daoist teaching local demons. He listened as the teacher explained the Three-Six Elixir Method, then heard a demon ask for practical instructions on cultivation.

• Fang Shu traveled toward Mount Lu in fox form and approached the mountain, where he planned to find a guide into the marketplace.
• Fang Shu heard cries near a burial mound and found a weasel Daoist teaching a group of demons to speak human language.
• When a rabbit demon asked about immortal cultivation, the weasel Daoist began explaining the Three-Six Elixir Method and its Three Calamities, Six Tribulations, and Eighteen Trials.
• Fang Shu joined the gathered demons and listened quietly, recognizing the cultivation stages from his Second Uncle's letter.
• After the demons admitted they had forgotten the lesson, one asked the weasel Daoist to teach them the specific steps of cultivation.

Fang Shu learned the moon-gathering method from the weasel Daoist Yellow Wolf and used it to recover years of lost lifespan. After Yellow Wolf departed, the monsters scattered, and Fang Shu set off before someone called for him to stop.

• Fang Shu simplified the Three-Six Elixir Method into eighteen cultivation tribulations, and the monsters praised his explanation.
• Yellow Wolf demonstrated how to gather moonlight and taught the monsters a breathing method for accumulating demonic qi.
• Fang Shu and the rabbit demon absorbed most of the moonlight, and Fang Shu’s Dao Register showed his lifespan had recovered by eight years.
• The monsters asked Yellow Wolf questions about cultivation before he introduced himself as their first teacher and departed through the night sky.
• The monsters scattered after Yellow Wolf left, and Fang Shu burrowed into the grass to continue his journey until someone called, “Fellow Daoist, please stay!”

Fang Shu reached a wild ferry near Mount Lu, paid the fare with Greenfly Blood Coins, and boarded a black-canopied boat bound for the mountain’s immortal marketplace. After the boat journeyed underwater for two days amid cramped, filthy conditions, Old Daoist Lü suddenly cried out and sprang up, leaving the passengers startled.

• A rabbit demon chased Fang Shu and proposed that they travel to Wandering Mountain and make a life together, but Fang Shu headed for Mount Lu and left her at the riverbank.
• Fang Shu drifted downstream on a log, took human form, and paid a masked boatman one thousand Greenfly Blood Coins to board the black-canopied boat.
• Fang Shu met Old Daoist Lü, Yin Xiaojian, Su Qingao, and Tian Tianquan in the crowded cabin and learned they were waiting for the boat to depart around midnight.
• At midnight, the boatman called the passengers piglets, and Fang Shu discovered that a giant snake demon carried the boat underwater while the two snake demons divided the fares.
• The passengers endured a cramped, foul two-day journey, and Yin Xiaojian followed a woman’s hand from the upper level into a corner of the cabin.
• Near the latter half of the second night, Old Daoist Lü shouted angrily, sprang upright, and struck his head against the upper plank, startling everyone aboard.

Fang Shu and his companions survived a night-boat farce involving thieves and monsters before reaching the immortal market, where brokers treated newcomers as livestock for sale. Lü Daoist led Fang Shu, Yin Xiaojian, and Tian Tianquan away to seek their first earnings, while Su Qingao went looking for an old friend.

• Lü Daoist caught and beat a brocade-robed youth who had tried to steal his hidden talisman coins, and the passengers learned that Tian Tianquan had helped the youth after trying to swindle him.
• Yin Xiaojian asked Tian Tianquan whether he had shared his bed the previous night, but Toad Granny appeared and claimed she had done so, revealing that monsters had infiltrated the boat.
• The snake-headed boatman drove the monsters into the river and admitted that the passengers' chastity, though not their lives, had been at risk; Fang Shu teased Lü Daoist about arranging a fated match on the night boat.
• The boat reached the immortal market, where brokers examined the newcomers as potential stock, and Su Qingao returned after learning that one broker had wanted to recruit her for a courtesan house.
• Su Qingao left to seek her close sister, while Lü Daoist promised Fang Shu, Yin Xiaojian, and Tian Tianquan they would earn money and led them into the market.

Fang Shu and his companions learned that Lü Daoist had brought them to a hall that bought blood, and he urged them to sell as much as possible by exploiting the newcomers’ mortal blood. Fang Shu resisted the temptation to follow them, choosing to find his Second Uncle first, but then abruptly noticed something in the crowd entering the hall.

• A Blood-Replenishing Hall attendant offered newcomers bonus payments for selling blood, and Lü Daoist told Fang Shu and the others to sell their mortal blood before it absorbed spiritual energy.
• Lü Daoist explained that drinking water and holding in their urine could help them sell more blood, and Fang Shu noticed other newcomers celebrating after doing so.
• Lü Daoist entered the hall to sell blood, followed by Tian Tianquan and Yin Xiaojian, while Fang Shu hesitated outside.
• Fang Shu decided to find his Second Uncle before selling blood, but abruptly rose and stared into the crowd entering the hall.

Fang Shu went to the Blood-Replenishing Hall to check whether a familiar man was his second uncle. After confirming the man was Yu the Second, he hesitated to approach and watched him from a distance.

• Fang Shu entered the Blood-Replenishing Hall and searched the crowd for the figure who resembled his second uncle.
• Fang Shu found the man peddling a blood voucher and watched people mock and mistreat him.
• Fang Shu paid an attendant to check for a scar beneath the man's left ear, and the attendant identified him as Yu the Second by his earlobe scar and nickname.
• The attendant warned Fang Shu that Yu the Second lived by selling blood and shaking chance lots, and advised him not to acknowledge the man.
• Fang Shu started to enter the hall to approach Yu the Second, but withdrew and silently watched him from afar.

Fang Shu explored Blood Street with Lü Daoist, Yin Xiaojian, and Tian Tianquan after they sold blood, then encountered his second uncle at a dairy shop. His second uncle recognized him and offered him a bowl of milk skin and milk tofu.

• Fang Shu learned that his second uncle, Yu the Second, made a living by selling blood, while Lü Daoist, Yin Xiaojian, and Tian Tianquan sold large amounts of blood for money.
• Lü Daoist took Fang Shu and the others to eat blood dishes at a street stall, where they learned that even sect disciples once sold blood to get by.
• Lü Daoist, Yin Xiaojian, and Tian Tianquan bought human milk skin and milk tofu, while Fang Shu traded his remaining pearl for a bowl of blood tofu.
• Fang Shu later spotted his second uncle speaking with the dairy-shop beauty and approached him.
• Fang Shu's second uncle turned, patted his shoulder, and offered him a bowl containing milk skin and milk tofu.

Fang Shu learned that Second Uncle had fallen from his former standing and was living in a cramped paper house, though he still knew the Mouth-and-Stomach Secret Sword Technique well. After seeing Fang Shu’s Long-Tongue Sword, Second Uncle rushed out to confront Cheng the Jar, whose insult left Fang Shu alarmed by what it might reveal about his uncle.

• Second Uncle bought Fang Shu milk food, which nourished Fang Shu’s body and increased his lifespan limit by three years.
• Second Uncle took Fang Shu through the market to buy necessities, then brought him to a cramped house made entirely of paper offerings.
• Second Uncle wrote that he had once been an entry disciple, revealing that he had suffered a calamity and fallen on hard times.
• Second Uncle advised Fang Shu on the Mouth-and-Stomach Secret Sword Technique, then became furious upon seeing Fang Shu’s Long-Tongue Sword and rushed out to confront Cheng the Jar.
• Fang Shu heard Cheng the Jar call Second Uncle a tongue-cutting slave and stared at his sword in shock and alarm.

Fang Shu learned that Cheng the Jar had cheated his Second Uncle Yu Le out of a sword artifact, but Yu Le urged him to hide his weapon and plan carefully because Cheng had powerful backing. Yu Le then explained the market’s three tiers of life and their costs, leaving Fang Shu weighing the risks of farming and mining against selling blood.

• Fang Shu discovered that Cheng the Jar had altered a contract to swap the promised tongue artifact for a mere tongue embryo, leaving Yu Le without his cultivated tongue and Fang Shu with a demon tongue.
• Fang Shu wanted revenge, but Yu Le urged him to hide the Long-Tongue Sword and act at the right time because Cheng was a First Tribulation cultivator backed by the Black Tiger Daoist Hall.
• Yu Le explained that Cheng’s trick had also let him delay his rent for three months, then encouraged Fang Shu to enter a Daoist hall and pursue immortal cultivation.
• Yu Le described the market’s lowest, middle, and upper tiers, and Fang Shu resolved to seek immortal arts and eventually join an immortal sect.
• Fang Shu learned that Yu Le had lost his fortune after failing to break through the second tribulation of essence refinement, and that farming or mining offered difficult alternatives to selling blood.
• After comparing the expenses and dangers of farming and mining with the steady income from selling blood, Fang Shu wondered whether a Fortune Lot might bring him a lucky break.

Fang Shu learned that academy tuition was costly, but the value of his inherited spells and artifacts could cover it. Yu the Second secretly traded them outside the market and returned with a Spirit Stone, leaving Fang Shu eager to learn what the deal had brought.

• Fang Shu understood Yu the Second’s warnings about the market and learned that connections and Talisman Coins were needed to enter an academy.
• Yu the Second explained that Burning-Tail Academy charged 10,800 coins for a three-month term and offered to find the money without Fang Shu selling blood.
• Yu the Second recognized the value of Fang Shu’s spells and artifacts, then warned him that the Fur-Shedding Skin-Changing Technique was a forbidden art that should be kept concealed.
• Yu the Second decided to sell the items outside the market and told Fang Shu to stay home while he made arrangements.
• Yu the Second returned after three days with a Spirit Stone, which Fang Shu recognized and coveted.

Fang Shu received a Spirit Stone, Essence-Nourishing Pills, and his Fox Fur artifact from Second Uncle, then prepared to enter a Daoist academy. On the way, he saw Su Qingao being guided toward marriage into a household, and both of them set out toward their new futures.

• Fang Shu resisted consuming the Spirit Stone, and Second Uncle gave him an Essence-Nourishing Pill that restored a year of his lifespan when he took it.
• Second Uncle returned Fang Shu's Fox Fur artifact and explained how he had sold other goods and traded for the Spirit Stone and pills.
• Second Uncle warned Fang Shu to buy pills only from reputable shops or have them inspected, and the two prepared for the Daoist academy.
• The next morning, Fang Shu and Second Uncle set out for the market district, where Wet Nurse Dou teased them about their early start.
• Fang Shu recognized Su Qingao as a heavily made-up woman led her toward a marriage arrangement, then continued toward the Daoist academy.

Fang Shu and Yu Le tried to enroll Fang Shu at Burning-Tail Academy, where Xiao Hu and Xiao Lili maneuvered to admit him only as a menial worker while mishandling the tuition. Yu Le rejected the offer and recovered the spirit stone, leaving the academy with Fang Shu after Senior Brother Ling confronted them.

• Fang Shu and Yu Le visited Burning-Tail Academy, paid the tuition, and waited while Xiao Lili took their letter to her father, Xiao Hu.
• Xiao Hu agreed to admit Fang Shu as a menial worker, then gave priority to another applicant brought by Yin, who tore up the first receipt and left with a new one.
• Xiao Lili offered Fang Shu a menial-worker position after claiming the academy's Daoist-child places were full, but Yu Le refused and demanded the spirit stone back.
• Xiao Lili returned the spirit stone, and Yu Le noticed it had become duller and pushed it back for Xiao Hu to inspect.
• Senior Brother Ling accused Yu Le and Fang Shu of causing trouble, but Fang Shu explained that Xiao Hu had taken the wrong item.
• A servant returned the spirit stone, and Yu Le carefully checked it before leaving with Fang Shu as Senior Brother Ling insulted them.

Fang Shu gained admission to Solitary Gu Hall with help from Li Yuan, while the other former shipmates faced very different turns in their lives. The chapter ended with all five having entered halls or become widowed, each facing an uncertain future.

• Yu Le brought Fang Shu to Li Yuan, who gave them Clean-Clothes Talismans and a recommendation for Hall Master Du.
• Hall Master Du accepted Fang Shu into Solitary Gu Hall and told him to restore his depleted qi and blood before beginning his cultivation days.
• Yin Xiaojian entered Scorched-Tail Hall, was forced to clean latrines, and ran to his aunt, pleading to leave the hall.
• Lü Daoist spent all his money drawing Fortune Lots, then went to the largest duck hall, where he encountered Tian Tianquan.
• Su Qingao arrived at her fiancé's home intending to marry, but he died before the wedding, leaving her alone with her widowed future father-in-law.

Fang Shu learned that entering the Dao required refining treasure blood and watched several Daoist boys risk their lives in Solitary Gu Hall’s Venom Pit. After the failed attempts, Hall Master Du offered to teach Fang Shu how to cultivate and temper his blood.

• Fang Shu replenished his qi and blood by eating the hall’s hard blood buns, while other Daoist boys mocked his appetite and frequent trips to the latrine.
• Li Hou'er brought Fang Shu to watch Hall Master Du explain the First Tribulation and the role of refining treasure blood.
• Six Daoist boys faced the Venom Pit; one withdrew and four entered but failed, suffering severe injuries before Master Leech could treat them.
• A giant toad announced that Master Leech had reached his limit, so Hall Master Du sealed the Venom Pit and dismissed the crowd.
• Li Hou'er told Fang Shu that wealth and connections offered safer ways to cross the tribulation than risking the Venom Pit.
• Hall Master Du noticed Fang Shu’s recovering qi and blood, offered to teach him cultivation, and Fang Shu gladly accepted.