Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Village”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Nianru pays Granny Zhou with broken silver to let the traveling group stay overnight in the isolated Shi Family Village.
• The villagers provide the group with hot water and an extravagant feast, allowing the exhausted travelers to relax. The women and children especially begin interacting warmly with the village children.
• Lin Nan becomes suspicious because the village shows no signs of cooking—there is no smoke from chimneys or sounds of livestock—despite the large amount of food being served.
• He realizes the feast is a trap and warns everyone not to eat. Han Luo uses Blood Talismans to expose the food’s true nature: the dishes rapidly decay into rotting flesh, mud, and worm-infested scraps.
• Many civilians and weaker martial artists have already eaten and begin suffering severe stomach pain, vomiting, and physical distress.
• The villagers, including the children and Granny Zhou, reveal their monstrous nature. Their skin turns blood-red, and they radiate sinister yin energy.
• Yan Jingqiu identifies them as creatures possessing physical bodies and yin energy, while Han Luo later recognizes them as Blood Corpses, a special kind of goblin.
• The group attempts to fight its way out. Ordinary attacks and Blood Talismans fail to stop the villagers because their wounds heal rapidly.
• Granny Zhou survives having her throat cut, and the villagers’ touch causes severe corrosion, peeling skin and exposing bone. Han Luo discovers that the monsters can only be killed by striking their hearts.

Character Developments

• Lin Nan demonstrates strong vigilance and analytical ability. Although initially encouraged to relax, he notices the village’s unnatural lack of cooking activity and correctly identifies the ambush before everyone is killed.
• Li Nianru acts as the group’s practical intermediary, securing shelter and supplies through payment. She also initially tries to reassure Lin Nan, highlighting how easily the village’s hospitality can obscure danger.
• Han Luo proves crucial to the group’s survival. His Blood Talismans reveal the food’s corruption, and despite being poisoned himself, he manages to vomit it out and identify the Blood Corpses’ weakness.
• Yan Jingqiu provides knowledge about the creatures’ nature, recognizing that they are neither ordinary humans nor typical spirits.
• Yan Ling, Jie Ling, Yu Qianqian, and the civilians experience a sharp emotional reversal: their relief and warmth toward the villagers turn into horror when the friendly children and elders reveal themselves as monsters.

Significant Themes

• Deception beneath hospitality: The village’s generosity, friendly children, and abundant food are all part of a predatory disguise.
• Vigilance versus exhaustion: After days of hardship, the travelers’ desire for comfort makes them vulnerable. Lin Nan’s refusal to relax completely allows him to detect the trap.
• Appearance versus reality: The apparently poor but welcoming villagers are actually supernatural predators, while the delicious feast is decayed flesh.
• Knowledge as survival: Understanding the creatures’ nature and discovering their heart-based weakness becomes more important than brute force.
• The danger of misplaced trust: The group’s emotional connection with the children makes the villagers’ transformation especially disturbing.

Character Interactions

• Li Nianru negotiates with Granny Zhou and establishes the group’s initial relationship with the village.
• The women and children form a temporary bond through games and shared food, making the later betrayal more shocking.
• Lin Nan and Li Nianru discuss his unease, with her urging him to enjoy the rare moment of comfort.
• Lin Nan’s warning interrupts the feast and shifts the group from relaxation to panic.
• Yan Jingqiu explains the monsters’ supernatural identity, while Han Luo supplies the vital combat instruction: do not touch their skin and attack their hearts to kill them.
• The chapter ends with the travelers trapped in a chaotic battle against rapidly regenerating Blood Corpses, many already weakened by the poisonous food.

Chapter Summary: “Separation”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Nan defeats more than twenty Blood Corpses surrounding the village by using his perfected Seven-Star Soul-Locking Bow Art, accurately striking their hearts and igniting the Blood Talismans inside them.
• He orders the surviving martial artists to carry the injured and sick, leading the group out of the village.
• Along the escape route, additional Blood Corpses attack, but the group now knows to target their hearts. The creatures’ corrosive fluids ruin several weapons.
• Once safely outside the village, Han Luo establishes a temporary safe zone and treats those poisoned by the contaminated food.
• Despite the treatment, eight more people die, leaving only forty-five survivors. Many victims are relatives or former fellow disciples, causing widespread grief.
• The survivors spend the night in the wilderness and reach an official road the next morning. Their arrival brings immense relief after days of danger and loss.
• At the road’s fork, the group must choose between:
  • Yanmen City, only three days away and suitable for recovery.
  • Jiangzhou Prefecture, a month away and Lin Nan’s preferred destination.
• The group divides. Most members of True Yang Temple and White Snake Martial School choose Yanmen City, while Li Nianru, Han Luo, Liu Feng, and others favor Jiangzhou Prefecture.
• Lin Nan decides to travel toward Jiangzhou Prefecture rather than remain with True Yang Temple. Yan Jingqiu accepts his decision and offers him a secret martial art as compensation for protecting the group.

Character Developments

• Lin Nan demonstrates exceptional archery, combat ability, leadership, and judgment. His performance confirms that his martial strength is comparable to elite military marksmen and makes him the group’s central protector.
• He becomes increasingly aware of his ignorance regarding demons, monsters, and Evil Spirits, recognizing that greater knowledge is as necessary as greater strength.
• The deaths during the journey reinforce Lin Nan’s determination to pursue overwhelming power and eventually build an independent foundation rather than rely on sects or alliances.
• Lin Nan also becomes more cautious and politically aware. He worries that people in Yanmen City may discover his secrets, especially his role in leading the group through the mist, so he chooses the route with fewer witnesses and better access to the Martial Alliance.
• Yan Jingqiu suffers serious injuries and is unable to continue a month-long journey safely. She recognizes that Lin Nan has grown independent and is no longer traveling the same path as True Yang Temple.
• Li Nianru and Yan Ling show improved combat efficiency by killing Blood Corpses after learning their weakness, though Li Nianru is distressed by the damage done to her expensive saber.
• Yu Qianqian, Liu Feng, and many others experience devastating personal losses, emphasizing how severely the journey has reduced the group.
• Han Luo proves essential through his knowledge of Blood Corpses and his ability to detoxify the survivors.

Significant Themes

• Survival and the cost of calamity: Even merchants, sect disciples, and lineage heirs are helplessly vulnerable when disaster strikes.
• The fragility of human life: The deaths of former disciples and family members lead Lin Nan to reflect that human lives are as transient and insignificant as grass.
• The pursuit of strength: Lin Nan concludes that only supreme martial power can provide genuine safety and freedom.
• Knowledge as power: The group survives because they understand the Blood Corpses’ weakness, while ignorance of the Spider Monster costs lives.
• Independence and separation: Lin Nan’s departure from True Yang Temple marks his transition from protected disciple to an individual pursuing his own path.
• Trust and caution: Although sects and organizations provide resources, Lin Nan believes true security can come only from personal strength and a foundation he creates himself.

Character Interactions

• Lin Nan commands the surviving martial artists during the escape, showing that the group accepts his authority.
• Li Nianru and Yan Ling fight alongside him, using their sabers against the Blood Corpses.
• Han Luo supports the group by warning them about supernatural dangers and treating the poisoned survivors.
• Yan Jingqiu and Lin Nan share a meaningful farewell. She understands his desire for independence and offers him a secret art to repay his protection and preserve their master-disciple bond.
• The chapter ends with Lin Nan surprised and intrigued by Yan Jingqiu’s offer, setting up the revelation of the secret technique.

Chapter Summary: The Red-Haired, Green-Eyed Woman

Plot Points and Events

• After leaving True Yang Temple and the White Snake Martial School, Lin Nan, Li Nianru, Han Luo, Liu Feng, Liu Feng’s father, and several others continue toward Jiangzhou Prefecture.
• The group travels along an official road lined with supply stations. Han Luo refuses the local soy-braised duck and survives entirely on his own dry rations, losing considerable weight and becoming increasingly desperate for proper food.
• After a month, they finally see Jiangzhou Prefecture in the distance. Since it is nearly midnight, they stop at a supply station for the night rather than continue traveling.
• While the others sleep, Lin Nan reviews his cultivation progress. His Origin-Revering Great Stance has advanced significantly, and several external martial arts are approaching mastery. He also realizes that certain techniques may be fused into stronger martial arts, potentially even a supreme-grade technique.
• Lin Nan’s neglected bronze cup suddenly begins vibrating inside his pack. He suppresses it with Jade Talismans, suspecting that it is reacting to something nearby. He plans to secretly sell it once he reaches Jiangzhou Prefecture.
• Lin Nan then notices a red-haired, green-eyed woman watching him from near the supply station. He recognizes her as the same mysterious woman he saw before entering the Invasion Zone, implying that she has followed him for over a month.
• The woman mysteriously appears directly in front of him while Li Nianru and Han Luo remain unnaturally unconscious. Lin Nan attacks her with Blood Talismans, but the talisman flames pass through her harmlessly.
• When Lin Nan prepares to use the True Yang Evil-Breaking Fist, the woman calmly warns him not to attack. She reveals that she has become an Evil Spirit but claims she does not kill indiscriminately.
• She introduces herself as Hanshan, causing Lin Nan to react with shock and immediately recognize the significance of her name.

Character Developments

• Lin Nan shows increased confidence and power after his journey, but the woman’s effortless supernatural abilities make him cautious and aware of the limits of his current strength. He remains observant, calculating, and prepared to flee if necessary.
• His cultivation has advanced substantially. His stance art is more than halfway through its current realm, while several body-tempering and combat techniques have improved toward mastery. He is also beginning to understand the potential of martial-art fusion.
• Han Luo remains stubborn and comical, refusing to eat duck despite the others’ encouragement. His strict diet has caused him to lose weight and highlights his strong personal preferences.
• Hanshan is established as a mysterious and extremely powerful figure. Despite being an Evil Spirit, she presents herself as controlled and civilized rather than openly hostile.

Significant Themes

• Growth versus hidden danger: Lin Nan’s increasing strength is contrasted with the appearance of an opponent—or potential ally—whose power seems far beyond his own.
• Mystery and supernatural intrigue: The vibrating bronze cup, the woman’s ability to appear instantly, and the sleepers’ unnatural condition suggest deeper connections between Lin Nan’s possessions and the spirit world.
• Preparation and restraint: Lin Nan carefully develops his martial arts and plans his actions, but the encounter demonstrates that knowledge and caution are as important as strength.
• The ambiguity of good and evil: Hanshan identifies herself as an Evil Spirit yet insists she does not kill indiscriminately, challenging the assumption that supernatural beings are automatically enemies.

Character Interactions

• Lin Nan and Han Luo share a lighthearted exchange over the local duck, emphasizing Han Luo’s stubbornness and the group’s growing familiarity.
• Lin Nan quietly observes and protects the sleeping group while cultivating, demonstrating his role as their alert guardian.
• His encounter with Hanshan shifts quickly from suspicion to confrontation. Lin Nan tests her with Blood Talismans, while Hanshan remains composed and amused, clearly holding the upper hand.
• Hanshan’s introduction of herself as “Hanshan” ends the chapter on a cliffhanger, suggesting that Lin Nan knows—or is about to discover—her identity and importance.

Chapter Summary: Cold Mountain Goddess

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Nan encounters the Cold Mountain Goddess, a Third-Order Evil Spirit, at an official road supply station. Although terrified, he respectfully flatters her while secretly retreating.
• The Goddess reveals that she is searching for a lost spirit artifact: a palm-sized green cup marked with four patterns. Lin Nan realizes that the artifact is the bronze cup he obtained earlier.
• He immediately returns the cup, claiming that he had taken it from a villain and had been waiting to give it back personally. The cup reacts joyfully upon sensing its original owner.
• Once the Goddess is distracted by recovering the artifact, Lin Nan attempts to flee toward Jiangzhou Prefecture. However, he discovers that he has never actually left the supply station; the Goddess had trapped him in an illusion or manipulated his perception.
• Lin Nan realizes that Yin evil aura has entered his body. He refrains from refining it immediately so that the Goddess will not notice the Creation Furnace’s power.
• Amused by his behavior and grateful for the return of her artifact, the Goddess gives Lin Nan a black pebble containing a portion of her natal essence. It can restrain Evil Spirits below the Third Order and unleash the power of one of her attacks when activated with qi and blood.
• She declares that their karma is settled and disappears, leaving only the Jade Talisman behind.
• The following night, Lin Nan finally refines the Yin evil aura in his body, gaining two Yin Qi Points.
• Lin Nan and the others reach Jiangzhou Prefecture. After presenting their identification documents and paying the entry fee, the group successfully enters the city.

Character Developments

• Lin Nan: Displays quick thinking, cautiousness, and shameless flattery in dealing with a vastly stronger opponent. His failed escape makes him recognize the enormous gap between himself and a Third-Order Evil Spirit. He also becomes suspicious that the Goddess’s historical reputation may conceal a deeper truth.
• Cold Mountain Goddess: Initially appears frightening and overwhelmingly powerful, but she behaves rationally and even playfully rather than killing Lin Nan. Her gratitude and gift suggest that she is not inherently murderous and may have been misunderstood or unfairly portrayed.
• Li Nianru: Notices Lin Nan’s exhausted and troubled appearance after the encounter, though he conceals the true reason.
• Liu Feng and Liu Yuanjun: Their relief and excitement at reaching Jiangzhou Prefecture contrast with Lin Nan’s lingering anxiety.

Significant Themes

• Survival through intelligence: Lin Nan cannot defeat the Goddess, so he relies on politeness, deception, and opportunism to survive.
• The danger of appearances and reputation: The Goddess’s reputation as an Evil Spirit conflicts with her rational and trustworthy behavior, suggesting that official records may not tell the whole story.
• Power disparity: Lin Nan’s failed escape and involuntary exposure to Yin evil aura emphasize the overwhelming power of a Third-Order Evil Spirit.
• Karma and reciprocity: Returning the spirit artifact settles Lin Nan’s relationship with the Goddess and earns him a valuable protective weapon.
• Hidden abilities and secrecy: Lin Nan must carefully conceal the Creation Furnace, even while under the Goddess’s influence.

Important Character Interactions

• Lin Nan and the Cold Mountain Goddess engage in a tense but humorous exchange, with Lin Nan constantly flattering her while attempting to retreat.
• The Goddess tests and teases Lin Nan after realizing that her lost artifact is in his possession.
• Lin Nan tries to deceive her by fleeing, but she effortlessly exposes the attempt and returns him to the supply station.
• Their relationship shifts from potential conflict to cautious mutual goodwill when Lin Nan returns the cup and receives the Goddess’s natal essence in return.
• Li Nianru later questions Lin Nan about his poor condition, but he avoids revealing what happened.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Nan, Li Nianru, and Han Luo arrive in Jiangzhou Prefecture after months of travel and settle into an inn. Lin Nan parts amicably from Liu Feng’s group, who plan to stay with relatives.
• Han Luo reveals that the Han Family is a prominent local clan and that the Cold Mountain Goddess came from a collateral branch of his family. He intends to tell the family head what happened in Black Dragon City and seek justice.
• Li Nianru says she still plans to return to Black Dragon City and remains concerned for her clan. She has reported the city lord’s plot, which caused the deaths of more than ten thousand people, to the Martial Alliance and imperial authorities.
• Li tells Lin Nan that Dawnward Garrison General—a leading Martial Alliance grandmaster—has come to meet him. At Taihu Lake, Lin Nan mistakes a handsome, imposing man for the general, only to discover the real general is a short, bald old man eating watermelon.

Character developments and interactions

• Han Luo is more at ease in the prefectural capital, but memories of Black Dragon City sharpen his anger. His family ties give him a new means to pursue justice for his aunt and the city’s victims.
• Li Nianru shows lasting loyalty to her family and deep resentment toward Black Dragon City’s ruler, despite her new place in the Martial Alliance. She also knows Dawnward Garrison General well—and fears his training.
• Lin Nan remains observant and curious, but his assumptions about the general’s appearance lead to a comic misunderstanding. He flatters the general while privately hiding his true reaction.
• The general recognizes Lin Nan’s skill at concealing his thoughts and praises Li Nianru’s judgment. His teasing reminder of her past mistake reveals a playful manner beneath his formidable reputation.

Significant themes

• Justice and loyalty: Han Luo and Li Nianru remain committed to addressing the wrongs done in Black Dragon City.
• Appearance versus reality: The powerful garrison general looks nothing like Lin Nan’s grand expectations, while the imposing man Lin Nan first greets is not the general.
• Power and humility: The general’s casual, humorous demeanor contrasts with his status as one of the Martial Alliance’s strongest leaders.

Key plot points and events

• The Dawnward Garrison General assesses Lin Nan: at 21, he has reached the Uncarved Jade Realm in the Origin-Revering art, perfected Wave-Treading Step, and raised four other external disciplines to the second level.
• The General gives Lin the identity token of the dead Golden-Wing Commander and offers him a chance to succeed the post. Lin must bring the unruly Golden Feather Guard under his command within two years to earn the Alliance’s recognition and access to resources, including its secret martial archive. Four experienced Uncarved Jade Realm deputies stand in his way.
• After Lin leaves, Li Nianru questions the appointment. The General admits he hopes Lin can grow strong quickly: the Alliance leader is gravely ill, and time is running short. He privately wonders whether Lin might achieve Five Qi Returning to the Origin.
• They discuss Black Dragon City’s devastation. Bai Yunfeng escaped after killing two Courage Soul Realm fighters, wounding a Grandmaster, and breaking a military formation. The imperial court has placed him on the Crimson List.
• Three months later, Lin takes Jiangzhou Prefecture’s Jiangnan Academy entrance exam. Having first considered the Evil-Quelling Office, he chose the academy because its recruitment is more accessible.
• Lin tells fellow examinee Zhao Xin that he applied to the Heavenly Observatory Court, which prepares demon and spirit dossiers and supports the Evil-Quelling Office. Zhao finds the choice surprising: the path is dangerous and offers limited career advancement.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Nan shows promise and ambition, accepting the Golden-Wing token while weighing the challenge and its rewards. He also shifts toward an institutional route by pursuing academy admission.
• The Dawnward Garrison General initially appears composed and casual, but reveals concern over the Alliance’s future and sees Lin as a possible answer to its shortage of time.
• Li Nianru questions why Lin was given such a difficult assignment and expresses concern about Black Dragon City.
• Zhao Xin, a wealthy fellow student, has grown familiar with Lin through studying together and reacts with surprise to Lin’s choice of specialization.

Significant themes

• Proving worth through action: Lin must earn the Golden Feather Guard’s loyalty rather than inherit authority automatically.
• Opportunity and risk: The Alliance’s resources and secret archive come with a demanding deadline; the Observatory Court offers useful work but danger and limited prospects.
• Urgency and uncertain futures: The Alliance’s aging leadership and Black Dragon City’s catastrophe underline how quickly circumstances can change.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• After passing the examinations, Lin Nan refuses Zhao Xin’s invitation to visit the Fragrant Harmony Pavilion and meet wealthy merchant heirs. He insists that he is not interested in women and prefers to keep to his routine.
• Lin’s routine in Jiangzhou Prefecture is studying by day and secretly hunting demons by night. Because the Evil-Quelling Office patrols regularly, the city and its surroundings are much safer than Black Dragon City, leaving Lin with few targets.
• During a hunt, Lin kills a Corpse Wraith and gains one yin qi point. He uses his five available points to advance True Yang Evil-Breaking Fist to its third level. He is also considering combining that art with Blazing Fire Palm, and has copied the Heavenly Dipper True Yang Seal, a Heartfire-activated technique said to greatly amplify his power against evil spirits.
• Lin discovers a vast, ravaged clearing bearing traces of sinister yin qi. After absorbing the remaining trace, he quickly leaves.
• After Lin departs, Bai Yunfeng, the former lord of Black Dragon City, appears at the site. He reveals that he has been pursued by the Evil-Quelling Office and has doubled back to Jiangzhou. He offers an unidentified leader the Yin-Ritual Bronze Vessel, said to be in Jiangzhou, and asks the leader’s people to help retrieve it because Bai cannot approach while the Office is present.
• The next morning, Lin meets Liu Feng and Han Luo at his cramped new courtyard in Cloud-Rising Ward. They discuss the high cost of living in the prefectural city: Liu Yuanjun has resumed running an escort agency, and Liu Feng helps with the family business rather than pursuing martial arts.
• Lin tells them he took the exam for the Heavenly Observatory Court. Han Luo questions why he would choose dangerous work when Jiangzhou is so safe; Lin replies that he hates demons.

Character developments

• Lin Nan remains determined to pursue demon-related work, despite his frail constitution and others’ warnings. His cultivation continues to advance, and he is deliberately strengthening his anti-evil abilities.
• Zhao Xin tries to steer Lin toward socializing with influential merchant families, but Lin refuses, showing his discipline and single-minded priorities.
• Liu Feng has shifted away from martial training to help earn money for his family after reaching the first level of the Skin-and-Flesh Realm.
• Han Luo has become wealthier and more indulgent since returning to his ancestral family, though he remains concerned for Lin’s safety.
• Bai Yunfeng emerges as an active schemer, still evading the Evil-Quelling Office and attempting to draw another powerful figure into a plan involving the Yin-Ritual Bronze Vessel.

Character interactions

• Zhao Xin presses Lin to reconsider joining the Heavenly Observatory Court and invites him to a pleasure house; Lin politely but firmly declines.
• Lin’s friendship with Liu Feng and Han Luo is relaxed and familiar, strengthened by their shared experiences in Black Dragon City. They tease one another over money and living expenses while discussing Lin’s career choice.
• Han Luo urges Lin to choose a peaceful life, while Lin’s response confirms that his hostility toward demons outweighs the apparent safety of Jiangzhou.

Significant themes

• Safety versus purpose: Jiangzhou’s strong law enforcement provides security but makes it harder for Lin to pursue the demon-hunting work he wants.
• Discipline and ambition: Lin rejects easy pleasures and steadily invests in cultivation and anti-evil techniques.
• Companionship and practical pressures: The friends’ bond persists even as money, family duties, and career choices shape their different paths.
• Hidden danger beneath calm: The city appears safe, but Bai Yunfeng’s presence and his plan for the bronze vessel suggest a larger threat is developing.

Lin Nan learned that Bai Yunfeng was ranked forty-ninth on Great Qian’s Crimson List after the destruction of Black Dragon City, and he heard about several notorious martial Grandmasters on the roster. Seven days later, Lin Nan passed Jiangnan Academy’s prefectural examination and arrived at the Heavenly Observatory Court, where Zhao Xin called him over.

• Liu Feng offered to introduce Lin Nan to Liu Ruyan, but Lin Nan declined after recognizing her name.
• Han Luo told Lin Nan and Liu Feng that Bai Yunfeng had been blamed for Black Dragon City’s destruction and placed on the Crimson List.
• Han Luo described the Crimson List’s rules and named its first three members: Jiang Xuance, Ku Rong, and Black Rock Fist.
• Lin Nan wondered why the most gifted Martial Masters of their eras had all become wanted criminals, but Han Luo said the reasons were documented in case files.
• Seven days later, Lin Nan passed Jiangnan Academy’s prefectural examination and entered the Heavenly Observatory Court, where Zhao Xin waved him over.

Lin Nan studied demonology and uncanny case analysis at the Heavenly Observatory Court, learning that ancient records described evil spirits up to the seventh order. When the teacher presented the Fang family case, Lin Nan concluded that a human, not a demon or evil spirit, was responsible.

• Zhao Xin learned he had been assigned to the Heavenly Observatory Court after his examination ranking fell short, and Lin Nan tried to comfort him.
• Lin Nan began studying at Jiangnan Academy and quickly immersed himself in case files, demon guides, and methods for analyzing uncanny incidents.
• Lin Nan discovered that ancient texts listed evil spirits from the fourth through seventh orders, though they provided almost no details about them.
• A month later, the teacher presented a case involving Fang Mother, who had become delirious after finding a tree trunk in the fog and later locked herself in her room.
• After learning there were four members of the Fang family, Lin Nan declared that the case involved neither a demon nor an evil spirit, but a human.