Chapter Summaries

After transmigrating to Salt City, Song Wen fought a starving beggar over a bun and nearly killed him before being interrupted. He sought work with the Heavenly Baleful Gang but found it was recruiting children, then was stopped by a gang member called Dog Lord.

• Song Wen ate a bun he had scavenged from a slop bucket and fought off a little beggar who tried to steal the other one.
• Song Wen beat the little beggar badly and considered killing him, but two servants arrived and interrupted him.
• Song Wen joined a crowd heading to the Heavenly Baleful Gang’s recruitment notice and learned it sought children aged seven to twelve to train as gang members.
• Song Wen tried to leave after realizing his current body was too old to qualify, but Dog Lord called him back.
• Song Wen approached Dog Lord with an ingratiating smile and asked what he wanted.

Song Wen joined the Heavenly Baleful Gang after Gou Hang recruited him for his literacy, only to learn he had been sold for a reward to Elder Extreme Yin. Armed guards escorted him away despite his protests, leaving him powerless and angry.

• Song Wen convinced Gou Hang that he could read and accepted his offer to join the Heavenly Baleful Gang.
• Gou Hang brought Song Wen to the gang headquarters, where Elder Yan tested him by having him read from a booklet.
• Elder Yan assigned Song Wen to Elder Extreme Yin and paid Gou Hang ten taels of silver for recruiting him.
• Song Wen realized Gou Hang had deceived him and protested, but Elder Yan ordered two armed men to take him away.
• Song Wen followed the guards under threat of their sabers, clenching his fists in anger.

Song Wen was brought to a guarded courtyard by the Heavenly Baleful Gang and kept confined for seven days before an immortal cultivator revealed himself. After witnessing the cultivator kill a youth and offer the survivors a chance to learn the Longevity Art, Song Wen resolved to pursue power while suspecting the offer concealed a cost.

• Song Wen chose a room in the Heavenly Baleful Gang's courtyard, where he was confined for seven days and gradually subdued his anger.
• On the eighth day, the gang gathered about a hundred youths in the courtyard, where a chubby boy demanded his release by invoking his father, an Assistant Magistrate.
• High Person Extreme Yin burned the chubby boy to ashes with a fireball summoned from a yellow talisman.
• A youth identified Extreme Yin as an immortal, and Song Wen joined the others in kneeling before him.
• Extreme Yin offered to teach the youths the Longevity Art for a month, promising to make anyone who drew qi into their body his personal disciple.
• Song Wen eagerly accepted the chance to cultivate but suspected Extreme Yin had an ulterior motive.

Extreme Yin taught Song Wen and the other youths the first level of the Longevity Art, while Song Wen grew suspicious of his motives. On the third night, Song Wen sensed spiritual qi but chose to hide his aptitude, and the next morning Extreme Yin again asked whether anyone had succeeded.

• Extreme Yin explained how to sense spiritual qi and draw it into the body, then confined the youths to the residence for a month of cultivation.
• Song Wen inspected the compound, studied the Longevity Art booklet, and spent the first day cultivating without sensing any spiritual qi.
• Song Wen learned that none of the other youths had sensed spiritual qi, which eased his worry about his lack of progress.
• On the third night, Song Wen sensed spiritual qi but failed to draw it into his body.
• Song Wen decided to conceal his aptitude until he understood Extreme Yin's intentions, and the next morning Extreme Yin asked the youths whether anyone had sensed spiritual qi.

Song Wen secretly cultivated after learning Extreme Yin could not detect cultivation from a distance, while keeping watch for danger and a chance to escape. By the end, he had found a concealed dog hole in the courtyard wall, though guards and the surrounding Heavenly Baleful Gang territory still made escape difficult.

• Song Wen sensed spiritual energy and briefly drew a wisp into his body, but stopped cultivating to hide his progress from Extreme Yin.
• On the seventh day, Second Ox revealed that he had drawn Qi into his body, and Extreme Yin made him his chief personal disciple after checking him by touch.
• Song Wen concluded that Extreme Yin could not detect cultivation from a distance and resumed cultivating in secret.
• Twenty days later, Zhang Cheng also drew Qi into his body, while Song Wen's strength and mental sharpness continued to improve.
• Song Wen scouted the courtyard and discovered a hidden dog hole, but guards nearby and the gang's territory made it difficult to use for escape.

After overhearing guards reveal that Extreme Yin intended to kill the youths regardless of whether they mastered cultivation, Song Wen claimed he had drawn qi into his body and was accepted as Extreme Yin’s third disciple. He moved into the disciples’ quarters and began looking for a safe way to learn more about Extreme Yin, especially from the ailing Second Ox.

• Song Wen overheard two guards say the youths were doomed because those who failed to cultivate could still reveal the Longevity Art.
• With three days left before the deadline, Song Wen told Extreme Yin he had drawn qi into his body, and Extreme Yin sensed spiritual qi without detecting how much he had cultivated.
• Extreme Yin named Song Wen his third disciple and brought him, Zhang Cheng, and Second Ox to the small building.
• Extreme Yin assigned Song Wen the vacant first-floor room and took Second Ox upstairs to his cultivation area.
• Song Wen decided to probe Second Ox indirectly about Extreme Yin’s habits because the wooden building carried sound and direct questions could raise suspicion.

Song Wen learned that Extreme Yin had dismissed the youths who failed to cultivate, then discovered that Second Ox’s rapid progress came from a pill that drained his blood qi. Suspecting Extreme Yin was testing pills on his disciples, Song Wen decided to investigate his routine and prepare to escape, ending as he approached the second floor.

• Zhang Cheng told Song Wen that the herb fields, alchemy cave, and second floor were forbidden without Extreme Yin’s permission.
• Second Ox said Extreme Yin had dismissed the youths who failed to introduce qi into their bodies, leaving Song Wen to fear they had been killed.
• Song Wen learned that Second Ox had reached the late stage of the first level of Qi Refining after taking a Blood Qi Pill, which severely drained his blood qi.
• Song Wen suspected Extreme Yin was using his disciples to test pills and realized he might soon be forced to take one himself.
• Song Wen returned to the building, resolved to learn Extreme Yin’s routine and prepare to escape, then stepped toward the second floor.

Song Wen sought Extreme Yin’s guidance on his cultivation and impressed him with his knowledge of growing Red Blood Vine. Extreme Yin considered training Song Wen to cultivate spirit herbs while continuing to refine and test his Blood Qi Pill.

• Song Wen surveyed the guarded grounds around his quarters and entered Extreme Yin’s room to ask why his cultivation was progressing slowly.
• Extreme Yin explained Song Wen’s cultivation errors, then let him read a guide to growing low-grade spirit herbs.
• Song Wen described suitable conditions for planting Red Blood Vine, and Extreme Yin praised his aptitude for growing herbs.
• Extreme Yin reflected on his stalled cultivation, his dangerous Blood Qi Pill experiments, and how Second Ox had survived the pill.
• Extreme Yin considered training Song Wen to grow spirit herbs so he could focus on refining the Blood Qi Pill.

Song Wen managed Extreme Yin’s spirit field while looking for a way to escape during Extreme Yin’s pill-making seclusion. After discovering that guards watched the mountain route, he abandoned that escape plan and cultivated until reaching the middle stage of the first level of Qi Refining, just as Extreme Yin emerged from seclusion.

• Extreme Yin gave Song Wen herb-growing instructions and assigned him the eastern spirit field, which Song Wen studied and carefully recorded.
• After Extreme Yin went into seclusion to refine Blood Qi Pills, Song Wen searched the field hut, found a sharp dagger, and hid it in his boot.
• Song Wen considered escaping over the western cliff but spotted firelight on the summit and realized Heavenly Baleful Gang members guarded the mountain.
• Song Wen gave up on escaping through the back mountain and cultivated for ten days, reaching the middle stage of the first level of Qi Refining.
• Extreme Yin emerged from the alchemy cave abode looking pleased, and Song Wen feared another round of medicine testing was about to begin.

Extreme Yin’s new Blood Qi Pills caused Second Ox and Zhang Cheng to die, leaving Song Wen convinced that he would be the next test subject. When Extreme Yin entered seclusion again, Song Wen began preparing an escape attempt through the back mountain.

• Extreme Yin summoned Second Ox and Zhang Cheng and gave them his newly refined Blood Qi Pills to take.
• The pills consumed both men’s blood qi and caused them to collapse; Extreme Yin left them to die and decided to seek new test subjects.
• Song Wen noticed the gang members carry two burlap sacks away and realized Second Ox and Zhang Cheng were dead.
• Extreme Yin told Song Wen he would enter seclusion for ten days, and Song Wen saw his last chance to escape.
• Song Wen found a woodcutter’s knife and chose four small trees to cut down and make into a ladder for climbing the back mountain cliff.

Song Wen was forced by Extreme Yin to test a pill that consumed his blood and vitality, but a mysterious energy helped him survive and refine its power. Extreme Yin then poisoned him with a Seven-Day Heartbreak Pill, leaving Song Wen weak and still searching for a way to escape.

• Four Heavenly Baleful Gang members guarded Song Wen, accidentally blocking his planned escape.
• Extreme Yin emerged from seclusion and ordered Song Wen to take a pill, offering him a gang token and freedom if he survived.
• Song Wen swallowed the pill and circulated the Longevity Art as its medicinal power drained his blood and vitality.
• A mysterious energy appeared in Song Wen's body, helping him finish refining the pill and survive.
• Extreme Yin forced Song Wen to swallow a Seven-Day Heartbreak Pill, then Song Wen returned to his room and found no trace of the mysterious energy.

Song Wen left the Heavenly Baleful Gang to explore Salt City and seek a cure for the Seven-Day Heartbreak Pill. After six physicians found no signs of poison, he concluded that he would have to investigate the Heavenly Baleful Gang itself.

• Extreme Yin introduced Song Wen as his eldest disciple and had him encourage the gathered youths to cultivate, then gave him permission to withdraw five hundred taels of silver each month.
• Song Wen withdrew five hundred taels and spent the morning exploring Salt City while checking whether anyone was following him.
• Song Wen visited Apricot Grove Hall and asked Xue Tao to diagnose his poisoning, but the physician found only signs of depleted blood essence and weak qi and blood.
• Song Wen consulted five more physicians, all of whom found no trace of poison.
• Song Wen decided that his best chance of curing the Seven-Day Gut-Severing Powder was to investigate the Heavenly Baleful Gang, where Extreme Yin had said it came from.

Song Wen tried to return to the Heavenly Baleful Gang after finding no cure for his poison, but encountered the little beggar he had injured and Brother Biao in an alley. He killed Brother Biao with a dagger and absorbed his blood qi, leaving behind a dried corpse.

• Song Wen left a brothel and decided to return to the Heavenly Baleful Gang before nightfall.
• Song Wen took a shortcut through an alley and recognized the little beggar he had injured.
• The little beggar told Brother Biao that Song Wen had put him in bed for over a month, and Brother Biao attacked Song Wen.
• Song Wen dodged Brother Biao's punch, drew his dagger, and stabbed him in the chest.
• Song Wen absorbed Brother Biao's blood qi as Brother Biao's body shriveled into a dried corpse.

Song Wen killed Brother Biao and the little beggar to protect the secret of his blood-devouring ability, then disposed of their remains and recovered from the effects of absorbing their blood essence. After discovering that devouring had replenished and strengthened him, he began considering how to use it against Extreme Yin.

• Song Wen killed the little beggar after he witnessed Brother Biao’s dried corpse, then devoured the boy’s blood essence as well.
• Overwhelmed by the blood qi and strange sensations from absorbing two people, Song Wen smashed both corpses and dumped the fragments in a foul ditch.
• Song Wen staggered back to the Heavenly Baleful Gang and slept until morning while his body processed the excess blood qi.
• Song Wen woke ravenous, ate six breakfasts, and noticed Aunt Chen’s reaction to his physique.
• While tending the herb garden, Song Wen realized that devouring had replenished his blood qi and slightly improved his body and understanding of cultivation.
• Song Wen concluded that his ability might help him scheme Extreme Yin to death, though he remained unaware of his growing anticipation for killing and drinking blood.

Song Wen left the Heavenly Baleful Gang to eat and ran into Gou Hang, who threatened a stall owner and his wife. With Extreme Yin’s backing in mind, Song Wen reached for the dagger in his boot as Gou Hang and his men prepared to leave.

• Extreme Yin saw that Song Wen had recovered and encouraged him to take walks outside.
• Song Wen ate at a roadside stall and ordered a generous meal.
• Gou Hang and his two underlings arrived, ate without paying, and harassed the stall owner’s wife.
• Gou Hang invoked the Heavenly Baleful Gang to intimidate the stall owner into waiving the bill.
• Song Wen recognized Gou Hang, recalled his grudge against him, and reached for the dagger in his boot.

Song Wen spared Gou Hang in public, hid his intention to take revenge, and learned where Gou Hang lived. Gou Hang then tried to turn Tang Liang against Extreme Yin by reminding him that martial strength could not compare with immortal arts.

• Song Wen stopped himself from killing Gou Hang and his two subordinates in the street, then paid their meal bill and thanked Gou Hang for recommending him to Extreme Yin.
• Gou Hang told Song Wen that he lived at Number Twenty-Five, Copper Gong Alley, and left with his subordinates.
• Song Wen watched Gou Hang leave and silently resolved to come for him at his residence.
• Gou Hang encountered Tang Liang displaying a white tiger he had killed and praised the Young Gang Leader's feat.
• Gou Hang suggested that even powerful martial artists were no match for immortals like Extreme Yin, stirring Tang Liang's resentment over being denied instruction in immortal arts.

Tang Liang and Gou Hang plotted to kidnap Song Wen for his cultivation method, while Song Wen took Extreme Yin’s antidote and later narrowly avoided Gou Hang’s invitation. As Song Wen headed back to the gang, three masked men ambushed him in a dark alley.

• Gou Hang told Tang Liang that Extreme Yin’s disciple Song Wen could freely leave the courtyard, and they planned to kidnap him, force him to reveal his cultivation method, and kill him.
• Song Wen spent four days cultivating before Extreme Yin gave him the monthly antidote, which Song Wen swallowed.
• Extreme Yin warned Song Wen that Salt City was dangerous at night, but Song Wen went out for dinner and encountered Gou Hang afterward.
• Song Wen grew suspicious when Gou Hang invited him to a pleasure house alone, declined, and headed back to the gang.
• Gou Hang signaled an attack, and three masked men sprang from a dark alley and reached for Song Wen.

Song Wen escaped an ambush by Tang Liang and two Heavenly Baleful Gang men, then stayed inside Extreme Yin's courtyard until Extreme Yin began seclusion. Song Wen later went looking for Gou Hang, only to learn that Gou Hang had moved away more than twenty days earlier.

• Song Wen defeated Tang Liang with a punch, held him at knifepoint, and fled after forcing the other two attackers to retreat.
• Song Wen returned to Extreme Yin's courtyard and concealed the ambush from his master.
• After a month passed without any of the young people drawing qi into their bodies, Extreme Yin entered seclusion and left Song Wen to tend the medicinal garden.
• Song Wen decided he would need to kill people and devour qi and blood to escape Extreme Yin's control.
• Song Wen went to Number Twenty-Five, Copper Gong Alley, and paid an auntie for directions to Gou Hang's former home.
• The auntie told Song Wen that Gou Hang had moved away more than twenty days earlier, but did not know where he had gone.

Song Wen tracked Gou Hang to his residence and killed him and his two subordinates after blinding them with lime and caustic soda. He burned their bodies and left the house ablaze.

• Song Wen learned that Gou Hang had moved away, then watched the Heavenly Baleful Gang's gate until Gou Hang left with two subordinates.
• Song Wen followed the three men as they committed various crimes and eventually returned to their private residence after visiting a brothel.
• Song Wen kicked his way inside and threw powder into the room, blinding Gou Hang and his two subordinates.
• Song Wen killed two men with his dagger, dodged Gou Hang's sleeve arrow, and stabbed Gou Hang in the chest.
• Song Wen absorbed the three men's blood essence, tested how the ability worked, and burned their corpses in the house.

Tang Yinian learned that the fires at three gang members’ homes were linked to Extreme Yin’s disciple and decided to visit Extreme Yin. After Extreme Yin emerged from seclusion with a new batch of Blood Qi Pills, he forced Song Wen to test one, while Song Wen pretended to trust his promises as he prepared to survive the test.

• Wang Yi told Tang Yinian that three gang members had been burned to ashes in fires and that the incidents were linked to Extreme Yin’s disciple.
• Tang Yinian dismissed Wang Yi and decided it was time to visit Extreme Yin.
• Song Wen spent the following days refining the blood qi in his body so Extreme Yin would not notice anything abnormal.
• Extreme Yin emerged from seclusion after successfully refining four pills and summoned Song Wen to test one.
• Song Wen pleaded to avoid testing the pill, but Extreme Yin threatened him and then promised it would be his last test and that he would receive the antidote to the Seven-Day Heartbreak Pill.
• Song Wen accepted the Blood Qi Pill while pretending to believe Extreme Yin, though he trusted none of his promises.