Chapter Summaries

Shen Luo escaped the Lower City after breaking through its barrier, then recovered in the Boundless Desert and decided to attempt a breakthrough to the True Immortal Stage before returning to search for Fu Donglai. He established a secluded dwelling in desert ruins and gave the Ghost General a black ghost blade.

• Shen Luo used the Mysterious Yellow Unity Staff to break the yellow barrier, escaped the Six-Armed Heavenly Dragon, and fled into the Boundless Desert.
• Shen Luo recovered from his injuries and demonic energy strain while the Ghost General stood guard.
• Shen Luo learned that the Ghost General had found no trace of Fu Donglai and insisted he would return to search for him after attempting to advance to the True Immortal Stage.
• Shen Luo flew with the Ghost General to a basin of ruins and set up a secluded cave dwelling in a grand hall.
• Shen Luo lent the Ghost General the Bloodthirst Banner and gave him the black ghost blade, which the Ghost General gratefully accepted.

Shen Luo found that Xie Yuxin had become a corpse and resolved to uncover what happened to her before cultivating to the peak of Mahayana Late Stage. When he investigated approaching cultivators, an ambush wounded the Ghost General, and Shen Luo revealed a durable chameleon-like puppet as their attacker.

• The Ghost General told Shen Luo he had awakened the Evil-Suppressing Divine Light, which could restrain yin-attribute attacks.
• Shen Luo recognized the female corpse with the immortal zither as Xie Yuxin and resolved to discover whether a tall figure had refined her into a corpse puppet.
• After cultivating with One-Origin True Water for more than ten days, Shen Luo reached the peak of Mahayana Late Stage and considered how to withstand the True Immortal Tribulation.
• The Ghost General warned Shen Luo that cultivators were approaching, and Shen Luo went to investigate them in a nearby valley.
• Two white pillars ambushed Shen Luo and the Ghost General; the Ghost General was pierced but used the Bloodthirst Banner and Yin Fire to destroy the beams.
• Shen Luo attacked a concealed assailant with sword qi and revealed a tall, durable puppet resembling a white chameleon.

Shen Luo met Yan Wushi and Lin Han of Heavenly Mechanism City in the Langxia Kingdom ruins and asked to be taken to the city so he could seek repairs for a damaged magic treasure. Yan Wushi agreed to bring him, though the city lord was in seclusion, and prepared to return with his disciples.

• Shen Luo discovered Lin Han inside an invisible Chameleon Puppet Armor and introduced himself as a disciple of Spring Autumn Temple.
• Yan Wushi arrived in a Golden Giant Ape Puppet Armor, apologized for Lin Han's awkward remarks, and asked why Shen Luo had come to the ruins.
• Shen Luo explained that he wanted to visit Heavenly Mechanism City and ask its city lord to repair a damaged magic treasure.
• Yan Wushi warned that the city lord had been in seclusion for years, but agreed to take Shen Luo and the Ghost General to the city.
• Yan Wushi suspended his disciples' mission, shrank the Giant Ape Puppet Armor into a sphere, and expanded an azure sphere into a large flying boat.

Shen Luo arrived at Heavenly Mechanism City with Yan Wushi and asked to meet its city lord about repairing the Jade Pillow. While he waited for an answer, he explored the Lower City with Zhou Ming as his guide.

• Yan Wushi flew Shen Luo and the others to an oasis and revealed Heavenly Mechanism City, with its Lower City and a jade city held aloft by a giant Puppet Armor.
• Yan Wushi explained that outsiders could move freely through the Lower City but were forbidden from approaching the Upper City without permission, and promised Shen Luo an answer within half a day about meeting the city lord.
• Yan Wushi assigned Zhou Ming to arrange Shen Luo's lodging, then went to the Upper City to deliver his request.
• Shen Luo considered how to persuade the city lord to repair the Jade Pillow and decided that his experiences in the Dream World might help.
• Shen Luo left his lodging to explore the Lower City with Zhou Ming, who explained that visitors reached the hidden city through Teleportation Magic Formations in shops across the Three Realms.

Shen Luo explored Heavenly Mechanism City while Yan Wushi reported his failed expedition to Elder Wuming, who directed Shen Luo to Man Bo for help repairing his magic treasure. Shen Luo used the Netherworld Ghost Eye to question Zhou Ming about the city’s leadership and learned that its city lord was called Little Master.

• Shen Luo asked Zhou Ming about dangers in the Boundless Sea of Sand, then listened as Zhou Ming recommended shops in the Lower City.
• Yan Wushi told Elder Wuming that his expedition had found no trace of Ghost Yan or Doll City, and explained why he had brought Shen Luo back to the city.
• Elder Wuming told Yan Wushi to take Shen Luo to Man Bo at the Hundred Refinement Hall to have his damaged magic treasure assessed.
• Shen Luo bought materials at several shops and headed toward the Thousand Gold Tower after Zhou Ming recommended Man Bo’s magic treasures.
• Shen Luo secretly used the Netherworld Ghost Eye to make Zhou Ming reveal the Council of Elders’ members and the city lord’s name, Little Master.

Shen Luo learned why Yan Wushi distrusted him and accompanied Zhou Ming to Thousand Gold Tower to buy defensive Magic Treasures. Proprietor Fang presented three treasures, and Shen Luo examined a water-attribute shield before the chapter ended with the second treasure revealed.

• Shen Luo used his soul-bewitching ability on Zhou Ming and learned that Yan Wushi suspected him of being a spy for Ghost Yan, who had stolen Puppet Armor and part of the Heavenly Mechanism Scroll.
• Shen Luo realized the mysterious man he had encountered was likely Ghost Yan, then followed Zhou Ming to Thousand Gold Tower.
• Zhou Ming introduced Shen Luo to Proprietor Fang, and Shen Luo asked to see the shop's finest defensive Magic Treasures.
• Proprietor Fang brought out three covered trays, and Shen Luo examined the Tortoise Spirit Shield, a Mid-Grade Magic Treasure with water spirit power.
• Proprietor Fang uncovered the second tray, revealing a blood-red net that emitted black energy and ghostly sounds.

Shen Luo bought the Tortoise Spirit Shield and the powerful Thousand-Dipper Golden Goblet to prepare for his thunder tribulation, then asked the Thousand Gold Tower to improve and repair his treasures. A thief stole his four Nine-Turned Refined Iron Chains, and Shen Luo raced after the fleeing figure.

• The gray-robed man showed Shen Luo the Tortoise Spirit Shield, Blood Fiend Yin Net, and unfinished Thousand-Dipper Golden Goblet.
• Shen Luo activated the Thousand-Dipper Golden Goblet and found its golden barrier exceptionally powerful and suitable for withstanding lightning.
• Shen Luo bought the Thousand-Dipper Golden Goblet and Tortoise Spirit Shield for eighteen thousand immortal jade.
• Shen Luo asked the gray-robed man to smelt the Nine-Turned Refined Iron Chains into his Mysterious Yellow Unity Staff and repair his damaged gray cloak.
• A black figure burst through the wall, snatched Shen Luo's four Nine-Turned Refined Iron Chains, and fled through the window.
• Shen Luo pursued the thief at tremendous speed as the gray-robed man and Zhou Ming rushed to the window.

Shen Luo pursued the thief who had stolen his Nine-Turned Refined Iron Chain and discovered it was a Black Wooden Bird Puppet from Heavenly Mechanism City. The puppet attacked him with the deadly Gale Nine Flashes, and Shen Luo escaped its third strike with his Mysterious Yellow Unity Staff badly damaged.

• Shen Luo used Wind-Thunder Radiance to catch up with the dark figure and fought off its powerful black feathers with his Mysterious Yellow Unity Staff.
• The dark figure stopped in the mountains and revealed itself as a Black Wooden Bird Puppet.
• The puppet accused Shen Luo of using soul-bewitching methods on Zhou Ming to obtain confidential information, then attacked him.
• Shen Luo dodged the first two flashes of Gale Nine Flashes using Moon Shadow and Slanting Moon Step.
• The puppet trapped Shen Luo with its third flash, but he forced his way out and escaped with his Mysterious Yellow Unity Staff deeply damaged.

Shen Luo fought the black wooden bird and fled toward the edge of Heavenly Mechanism City, but it caught him and sealed his magic power. The bird carried him through the city barrier into the Boundless Sea of Sand, where he found a white-haired figure waiting.

• Shen Luo froze the black wooden bird in an iceberg and escaped with Wingspan Thousand Li after it broke free.
• Shen Luo fled toward the outskirts of Heavenly Mechanism City, planning to break through to the True Immortal Stage and later rescue Fu Donglai.
• The black wooden bird intercepted Shen Luo at the city barrier and engulfed him in a hurricane that tore apart his spiritual wings.
• The black wooden bird seized Shen Luo and sealed his magic power before carrying him through the restriction into the Boundless Sea of Sand.
• The bird landed beside a white-haired figure, who patted its head as Shen Luo stood nearby.

Shen Luo met Little Master, the white-haired boy who led Heavenly Mechanism City, and learned that the mysterious underground city was Doll City, a legendary puppet armor. Little Master promised to forgive Shen Luo’s earlier offense and repair his treasures if Shen Luo guided the city’s people to Doll City, and they returned to Heavenly Mechanism City to prepare to search for it.

• Shen Luo reasoned that Little Master had brought him there for a task rather than to kill him, and apologized for using a soul-bewitching technique on Zhou Ming.
• Little Master revealed his identity and questioned Shen Luo about the Six-Armed Heavenly Dragon and the underground city where Shen Luo had encountered it.
• Shen Luo explained that his companion remained trapped in the city, and Little Master identified it as Doll City, a legendary puppet armor belonging to Heavenly Mechanism City.
• Little Master offered to forgive Shen Luo and repair his treasures if he led them to Doll City, and Shen Luo said he had left a magic power mark there.
• Little Master restored Shen Luo’s magic power and carried him back to Heavenly Mechanism City on the black wooden bird.
• Little Master explained that the Sky-Supporting Giant was the Heaven-Supporting Engine, crafted by Che Yuan, then led Shen Luo into a hall and seated him beside the deliberation chairs.

Little Master convened Heavenly Mechanism City’s Council of Elders and introduced Shen Luo, who had escaped Doll City and encountered Ghost Yan. The elders learned Shen Luo’s companion remained trapped there, and the chapter left them poised to discuss what he knew about Ghost Yan.

• Little Master reprimanded Elder Mei for neglecting Council business, but Elder Mei revealed he had recreated Trace-Hiding Incense and was allowed to keep his seat.
• Little Master gathered the elders to discuss Ghost Yan and introduced Shen Luo as a guest from the Spring Autumn Temple.
• Shen Luo explained that he and his friend had entered Doll City by chance, that he had escaped, and that his companion was still trapped inside.
• Elder Mei doubted Shen Luo’s account, but Little Master vouched for him, and Elder Wuming praised Shen Luo’s strength.

Shen Luo arranged to guide Heavenly Mechanism City to Doll City and asked Little Master to strengthen his magic treasures before the expedition. Little Master recognized and repaired Shen Luo’s Soft-Smoke Silk Robe while refining his staff, leaving Shen Luo with two newly restored treasures as the party prepared to depart.

• Shen Luo told Elder Wuming and the others that Fu Donglai had helped him escape Doll City and that he could lead them there using a Magic Power Mark.
• Little Master ordered the elders to prepare for an expedition to recover the Puppet Armor pieces and Heavenly Mechanism Scroll, then agreed to repair Shen Luo’s treasures in exchange for his help.
• Little Master recognized Shen Luo’s gray cloak as the stolen Soft-Smoke Silk Robe and said Heavenly Mechanism City had the materials needed to repair it.
• Little Master used the Heavenly Mechanism Divine Craft Furnace to refine the Soft-Smoke Silk Robe and Mysterious Yellow Unity Staff with Shen Luo’s Nine-Turned Refined Iron Chains and other materials.
• The furnace finished, and Shen Luo drew the newly refined golden and blue treasures before him.

Shen Luo examined the newly refined Soft-Smoke Silk Robe and Mysterious Yellow Unity Staff while Little Master explained the staff’s limits. Meanwhile, Fang Rui reported Heavenly Mechanism City’s plans to a demonic master, and Little Master prepared a group to hunt Ghost Yan and recover the stolen treasures.

• Shen Luo refined the Soft-Smoke Silk Robe and discovered its evasion ability, then examined the Mysterious Yellow Unity Staff’s new restrictions and asked Little Master why it had not become a high-grade magic treasure.
• Little Master explained that conflicting spiritual energies in the staff’s materials required nine-heavens metal essence to balance them before more restrictions could be added.
• Fang Rui told the human-headed flame that Heavenly Mechanism City had learned Ghost Yan’s whereabouts, and the flame ordered him to investigate the city’s response while warning him of his duty to Lord Demon Ancestor.
• Elder Wuming and the other cultivators returned, and Little Master told Elder Wuming to remain behind to guard Heavenly Mechanism City.
• Little Master led Shen Luo and the assembled disciples out to hunt Ghost Yan and recover the treasures he had stolen.

Shen Luo joined Little Master and Heavenly Mechanism City’s elders aboard the Spirit Crab Flying Vessel to pursue Ghost Yan at Doll City. As Yan Wushi apologized for suspecting him, Shen Luo realized someone might have arranged for him to reveal Ghost Yan’s location, leaving him wary of a larger scheme.

• Elder Fu summoned the Spirit Crab Flying Vessel, and Shen Luo guided it north toward Doll City, whose location had shifted.
• Little Master ordered Elder Fu to maximize the vessel’s speed, and Shen Luo estimated they would reach Doll City in about half a day.
• Yan Wushi apologized to Shen Luo for suspecting him of being a spy and explained the hostile factions operating in the Boundless Sea of Sand.
• Shen Luo questioned Yan Wushi about the local sects, then reconsidered how he and Fu Donglai had found Ghost Yan so easily.
• Shen Luo suspected that someone had deliberately used him to reveal Ghost Yan’s whereabouts to Heavenly Mechanism City.

Shen Luo and the others split into two groups after the Magic Power Marks left in Doll City divided into separate routes. Shen Luo’s group followed one mark to the Black Abyss Mountains, where Yan Wushi revealed the deadly forbidden cavern within.

• Shen Luo sensed that four Magic Power Marks were moving northeast while one moved southwest, and Little Master decided to divide the group to pursue both sets.
• Little Master gave Shen Luo a Black Jade Plate for tracking and communication, then took Elder Fu and the Spirit Crab Flying Vessel northeast.
• Elder Mei and Elder Mo Wang took Shen Luo, Yan Wushi, and the other disciples southwest aboard the faster Scarlet Phoenix Flying Vessel.
• After a day and night, the group reached the Black Abyss Mountains, where Shen Luo sensed yin energy and strange howling near the mark’s stationary location.
• Yan Wushi explained that the Black Abyss Mystery Cavern lay within the mountains and contained deadly Nine Netherworld Yin Wind, yin beasts, and ghosts.
• Shen Luo wondered whether the yin beasts he had encountered in the Boundless Sea of Sand and Doll City had come from the cavern.

Shen Luo’s group found the mark inside the Black Abyss Mystery Cavern, where the Nine Netherworld Yin Wind had weakened unexpectedly early. Little Master learned that Ghost Yan and Doll City were likely inside and redirected the pursuit toward the cavern.

• Lin Han warned Shen Luo that the cavern contained blood mist capable of driving people mad and turning them into monsters.
• Shen Luo led Elder Mei and the Heavenly Mechanism City disciples to the cavern, where Elder Mo Wang noticed the yin wind had weakened before its usual cycle.
• Little Master received Elder Mei’s report and sent Elder Fu back toward the cavern while he pursued the marks on Dada.
• Elder Wuming reported that the yin wind’s weakening period had arrived early, and Little Master ordered Man Bo to head to the cavern in his Flame Beast Puppet Armor.

Little Master ordered the Seal of Returning Origin prepared to suppress Doll City while he pursued a disturbance in the desert. At the Black Abyss Mystery Cavern, Shen Luo and the Heavenly Mechanism City cultivators faced four sects and Mo Xin, the powerful deputy chief of Demon King Stronghold.

• Little Master authorized Elder Wuming to have Man Bo bring the Seal of Returning Origin to the Black Abyss Mystery Cavern, then attacked a wave of dust with his black wooden bird.
• Elder Mei, Elder Mo Wang, Shen Luo, and the other Heavenly Mechanism City cultivators received sixty or seventy cultivators from the Yellow Sand, Divine Tortoise, Thick Earth, and Beast Taming Sects.
• Sect Leader Yuan challenged Heavenly Mechanism City's authority, and Elder Mei stepped forward to confront him.
• Mo Xin arrived and offered to fight Elder Mei, startling the Heavenly Mechanism City cultivators with his late true immortal cultivation.
• Yan Wushi told Shen Luo that Mo Xin was Demon King Stronghold's deputy chief and Sect Leader Yuan's adoptive father, and explained their past disputes with Heavenly Mechanism City.

Shen Luo and the others entered the Black Abyss Mystery Cavern after the Nine Netherworld Yin Wind receded, while he discovered that Elder Mei had altered Little Master's orders. Deep inside the cavern, a crimson skeleton that had transformed yin into yang waited in the darkness.

• Mo Xin learned that the Nine Netherworld Yin Wind had weakened and prepared to fight Elder Mei, but the wind suddenly vanished and he rushed into the cavern with the other sects.
• Elder Mei received news that Ghost Yan was likely inside the cavern and claimed Little Master had ordered them to watch Mo Xin and his group.
• Shen Luo read the message on Elder Mei's token with his Netherworld Ghost Eye and saw that Little Master had actually urged them to proceed cautiously and protect themselves.
• Elder Mei led Heavenly Mechanism City's group into the cavern, and Shen Luo used his Pure Yang Sword to resist the dense yin energy.
• Deep in the cavern, a crimson skeleton radiating pure yang reclined on a throne of white bones.

A blood-colored skeleton ordered his forces to defend the formation cores in the Black Abyss Mystery Cavern as Human Race cultivators advanced. Shen Luo and the Heavenly Mechanism City group encountered a sudden attack of Gray Rain Fluid, which stained their protective treasures but seemed to cause no other harm.

• A Half-Bat Yin Beast reported that cultivators from four sects had entered the cavern, and the blood-colored skeleton ordered them lured into the Maze Cave and picked off.
• The blood-colored skeleton told Ghost Yan to help defend the cavern and ordered the purple phantom, Netherworld, and Asura to guard the inner formation cores.
• The purple phantom asked about the outer formation core, and the blood-colored skeleton said he had already sent Yin Beasts to guard it.
• Elder Mei led the Heavenly Mechanism City group deeper into the passage while Shen Luo and a few cautious disciples prepared protective treasures.
• Gray Rain Fluid burst from the walls, and Elder Mei, Elder Mo Wang, Shen Luo, and the others dodged or blocked most of it, though gray stains clung to their treasures and some cultivators' skin.
• Elder Mei questioned Elder Mo Wang for using the White Flood Dragon Ring to block the fluid, and Mo Wang said he no longer needed the ring.

After Gray Rain Fluid marked many Heavenly Mechanism City cultivators as bait for Yin Beasts, the group fought through repeated attacks in the Black Abyss Mystery Cavern. Shen Luo obtained a valuable Yin Soul Pearl and asked Yan Wushi why the Yellow Sand Sect and Thick Earth Sect had arrived.

• Yan Wushi asked about the Gray Rain Fluid, and Elder Mei explained that its scent attracted Yin Beasts and could pass through magical barriers.
• Shen Luo concealed his contaminated Tortoise Spirit Shield in the Void Jade Box and protected himself with the Bloodthirst Banner.
• Elder Mei blamed the Yellow Sand Sect, the other sects, or Mo Xin for planting the fluid, then ordered the group to fight off surrounding Yin Beasts.
• Shen Luo killed an Out-of-Body Stage Yin Beast with the Bloodthirst Banner and collected the Yin Soul Pearl it dropped.
• Yan Wushi said Heavenly Mechanism City alone could use Yin Soul Pearls and that Shen Luo's pearl could fetch a good price there.
• Shen Luo asked Yan Wushi why the Yellow Sand Sect and Thick Earth Sect had come to the cavern when Ghost Yan had stolen no treasures from them.